Hosted by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) and organized by the Korean Standards Association (KSA), the 37th Quality Management Convention took place in Seoul on December 13 with much fanfare, attended by Prime Minister Kim Whang-sik and some 1,600 prize winners and guests.
A total of 403 individuals and groups were awarded at the ceremony, who were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the field of quality management.
Kim Myung-joon, CEO of Woory Industrial Co., received the Gold Tower medal, the highest honor in the field, for her role in transforming Woory into a world-class auto-parts producer. Through innovation, Woory succeeded in charting the European and American markets and has increased its sales by over 30 percent year by year, for 40 years. It also won the best quality subcontractor award from DaimlerChrysler in 2006 and from Visteon in 2008, a leading American automobile supplier.
In the quality competitiveness category, Sungwoo Hitech, an automobile components manufacturer, was selected as the best company of 2009-2010. It earned the most appraisal from its most important customers -- Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. SungWoo has also received the "subcontractor award of the year" from Global GM for three consecutive years. Sungwoo has been tripling its sales and operational income for the past three years.
Of particular note was Lee Sang-won, chief of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, who received the bronze industrial medal in recognition of his efforts for localizing power generation facilities and sharing his know-how to some 100 subcontractors, leading the quality innovation drive at industrial sites.
About the Korean Standards Association
KSA is an organization that provides both standardization and quality management training and education in Korea, and it implements a variety of researches and activities related to standardization and quality management in order to build a global standard that can live up to Korea’s tradition as a great power in standards.
It consists of experts who have both hands-on backgrounds and theories on various industries, and thus, KSA leads Korea’s industrial development in the technology competitiveness era of the 21st century based on know-how accumulated through researches and studies on industrial standards and quality management, education and training, KSㆍISOㆍJIS certifications, promotional events, and international cooperation for the last 50 years.
KSA members span many industries, including manufacturing, construction and finance, as well as government institutions. The members are provided with various services, including abundant information on industrial standardization and quality management, as well as quality education programs.
