I'm a businessman, not a lecturer. I've prepared some materials for this lecture but I'd rather share my experiences and beliefs with you.

In Korea, so many people, including government officials, politicians, and so on, claim "I'll make you wealthy" but I think it is nonsense. They haven't become wealthy, nor have they made their relatives become wealthy. Then, how could they make people in general wealthy? I think the basics of wealth lie in sweating and running for oneself. Making desperate situations and running hard in them lead you to go ahead of others. I believe "Let's run hard and lead a wealthy life together" is honest encouragement.

Strong industry is a requisite for strong national economy. Nations like Korea which can't control their currency policies on their own have very limited room for maneuvering interest rates or exchange rates. What they can do is just control tax policies. So, the government should turn their attention from macro economic policies to micro economics, strengthening industries. I think that is the only and sure way to economic development for Korea.

However, we haven't seen any new industries arise in Korea. When technology loses its competitiveness, the industries using the technology go down to underdeveloped countries. The typical example of this transfer is shipbuilding industry. This labor-intensive industry was developed first in Europe, then moved to Japan, to Korea, and is moving to China. If the shipbuilding industry declines, heavy industries and the steel industry follow the decline. With the unstable oil prices, the petro-chemical industry can't be trusted to stand strong. Even the financial industry is not very active in the trend to lower interest rates. We are desperately in need of developing new industries.

It usually takes seven to eight years for new industries to take root and show promising possibilities. From there it takes another seven to eight years for the industries to bear practical fruit, which means that it takes at least 15 years to foster competitive new industries. Therefore, national leaders should take courage to sow the seeds that will bear fruit in the next government even though it makes them unpopular at present.

I started my business with only fifty million won after I resigned from the Daewoo Group, which was about to break up in the face of the IMF bailout. I committed myself to this industry, foreseeing the transfer of this industry from R&D type to industry type. Currently my company is doing business beyond the pharmaceutical industry, working in medical cosmetics, dietary supplements, and enzyme industry.

I didn't have a fancy academic background or capital. However, I have worked hard and was included among the 900 wealthiest people listed by Forbes. With this experience, I want to tell the suffering Korean young people, "Let's take pains for just ten years to get wealthy."

Complied by Taewoo Doh, laywer

Translated by Soojung, Kang, writer