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ECCK Chairperson Interview with Maeil Business Newspaper: ‘Korea’s Green New Deal… Great opportunity for European companies’
An interview with ECCK Chairperson Dirk Lukat was published in Maeil Business Newspaper (매일경제) on August 10. In the interview, Chairperson Lukat shares his vision for ECCK’s future and view on future business opportunities for European and Korean companies in the field of green energy and digital economy. Below is the English translation of the article.
[CEO] Lukat, the new chairperson of ECCK…Korea’s Green New Deal, great opportunity for European companies
I was amazed by how tall he was as he stood up. Dirk Lukat, the new chairperson of ECCK, bowed deeply and gave a fist bump, and he laughed and said, “no handshakes yet.”
Last month, when Chairperson Lukat became the new head of ECCK, a virtual business summit was held between the EU and Korea. Following the video summit between President Moon Jae-in and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of June, the ECCK and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly held the EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference on July 2 where Chairperson Lukat participated in the discussion with other Korean and European business leaders.
Chairperson Lukat said, “We discussed strengthening cooperation on the joint agenda of the EU-Korea, including the climate change and the digital economy. It will be a great opportunity for not only Korean companies but also European companies in Korea.” European countries have already been doing business with a focus on the environment for almost 20 to 30 years, which can be helpful for future cooperative business opportunities with Europe’s expertise in various environment businesses including clean energy.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-EU strategic partnership and 10 years since the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was officially signed. ECCK, which represents the voices of 360 European companies in Korea, was established in 2013 and has already been operating for 7 years. ECCK has become particularly solid (known for) in Korea with its annual publication of ‘ECCK White Paper’. The thick book examines Korea’s regulatory issues across 20 different industries such as healthcare and automotive and contains over 100 recommendations. It is a comprehensive set of ‘bitter hard truths’ sent to the Korean government every year. The Korean government is calling for regulatory reform, but the recommendations made by ECCK seem to increase every year.
Chairperson Lukat said, “We delivered 180 recommendations of the white paper last year, and we have already received an official written feedback from relevant government ministries, where over 30 percent of the recommendations were positively reviewed by the government. This year again we have 20 industry committees preparing the white paper through annual meetings with the government.” One of the achievements of last year’s ECCK white paper is a request to improve the method of calculating the average energy consumption efficiency for vehicles with high fuel consumption. The Ministry of Environment decided to clarify the guidelines from the second half of this year after accepting ECCK’s proposal.
He also plans to create a ‘junior board’ to hear the voices of young European entrepreneurs during his tenure. Currently, ECCK focuses on large manufacturing industries such as pharmaceuticals, bios, chemicals, and automotive, but ECCK will listen to the stories of young European startups in the future. “European startups are already doing various activities in Korea, and they have not been able to reflect that voice. I think the knowledge and experience of these junior managers can become the motive for innovation.”
Chairperson Lukat has been the CEO (President) of Schenker Korea, a German logistics company, since 2015. DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG that focuses on logistics. Schenker is a large-scale logistics company that is in charge of overall logistics services such as contract logistics, exhibition logistics, air transport, sea transport, and land transport, but it is not well known to the general public as there is no home delivery business group.
When I asked him if doing business in Korea is getting better after entering his sixth year in Korea, he answered, “The minimum wage is too high which makes it difficult.” “As Korea is an advanced country, it is difficult to expect low wages,” added Chairperson Lukat. “Nevertheless, it is unprecedented that the minimum wage has increased to double digits in two years since 2018. This steep wage increase can undermine a healthy balanced relationship between the government and unions, and it will lower production efficiency not only for European companies but also for Korean companies. The biggest risk is that because of these policies, many companies are trying to leave Korea. “
Chairperson Lukat, a logistics expert who has been working in Asia for 30 years said, “The global supply chain is rapidly changing due to COVID-19, and there are many discussions about whether the globalization has ended due to the prevailing protectionism.” “But I have a positive view on global trade.”, said the Chairperson. “Even if global trade is somewhat reduced in the short term due to the corona virus, more trade will take place in the region as many countries, including Korea and the EU, diversify their supply chains.”
In regards to the changes to global supply chain caused by COVID-19, Chairperson Lukat’s view was different. “With the outbreak of COVID-19, factories around the world were initially closed for more than two months, and the global demand for passenger planes and sea freight plummeted. Industries that had maintained its supply chain mainly in China, such as automotive, were hit hard.”
“However, in the future, the change in supply chain will depend on the type of product,” said Chairperson Lukat. “In the case of expensive high-tech products, even if stocks are accumulated, efforts to diversify the production base will be made, but for low-cost products where technology is not important, reshoring will occur quickly.” He said, “Even if reshoring is not happening immediately, reshoring movement of production bases in Northeast Asia and South Asia especially will start to accelerate.”
Prior to moving to Korea, he worked in Singapore and Vietnam. He is a pro-Korean. Chairperson Lukat said, “I have been living in Asia for 30 years, and the best thing about Seoul is that it is the greenest city. People talk about the air pollution in Korea, but I ride bicycles almost every day.” He explains that there are few cities in Asia where you can work in the city center on weekdays and return to nature on the weekends or after work.
▶▶ He is…
△Joined Schenker Germany in 1986 △Schenker Singapore Sales Manager 1990-1991 △Schenker Vietnam in 1992 △Schenker Singapore Marketing/Logistics/Sales Manager from 1993 to 1997 △Schenker International General Manager from 1998 to 1999 Schenker-Seino (Japan) General Manager △2015~Present CEO of Schenker Korea
ECCK Chairperson Interview with Maeil Business Newspaper: ‘Korea’s Green New Deal… Great opportunity for European companies’
An interview with ECCK Chairperson Dirk Lukat was published in Maeil Business Newspaper (매일경제) on August 10. In the interview, Chairperson Lukat shares his vision for ECCK’s future and view on future business opportunities for European and Korean companies in the field of green energy and digital economy. Below is the English translation of the article.
[CEO] Lukat, the new chairperson of ECCK…Korea’s Green New Deal, great opportunity for European companies
I was amazed by how tall he was as he stood up. Dirk Lukat, the new chairperson of ECCK, bowed deeply and gave a fist bump, and he laughed and said, “no handshakes yet.”
Last month, when Chairperson Lukat became the new head of ECCK, a virtual business summit was held between the EU and Korea. Following the video summit between President Moon Jae-in and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of June, the ECCK and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly held the EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference on July 2 where Chairperson Lukat participated in the discussion with other Korean and European business leaders.
Chairperson Lukat said, “We discussed strengthening cooperation on the joint agenda of the EU-Korea, including the climate change and the digital economy. It will be a great opportunity for not only Korean companies but also European companies in Korea.” European countries have already been doing business with a focus on the environment for almost 20 to 30 years, which can be helpful for future cooperative business opportunities with Europe’s expertise in various environment businesses including clean energy.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-EU strategic partnership and 10 years since the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was officially signed. ECCK, which represents the voices of 360 European companies in Korea, was established in 2013 and has already been operating for 7 years. ECCK has become particularly solid (known for) in Korea with its annual publication of ‘ECCK White Paper’. The thick book examines Korea’s regulatory issues across 20 different industries such as healthcare and automotive and contains over 100 recommendations. It is a comprehensive set of ‘bitter hard truths’ sent to the Korean government every year. The Korean government is calling for regulatory reform, but the recommendations made by ECCK seem to increase every year.
Chairperson Lukat said, “We delivered 180 recommendations of the white paper last year, and we have already received an official written feedback from relevant government ministries, where over 30 percent of the recommendations were positively reviewed by the government. This year again we have 20 industry committees preparing the white paper through annual meetings with the government.” One of the achievements of last year’s ECCK white paper is a request to improve the method of calculating the average energy consumption efficiency for vehicles with high fuel consumption. The Ministry of Environment decided to clarify the guidelines from the second half of this year after accepting ECCK’s proposal.
He also plans to create a ‘junior board’ to hear the voices of young European entrepreneurs during his tenure. Currently, ECCK focuses on large manufacturing industries such as pharmaceuticals, bios, chemicals, and automotive, but ECCK will listen to the stories of young European startups in the future. “European startups are already doing various activities in Korea, and they have not been able to reflect that voice. I think the knowledge and experience of these junior managers can become the motive for innovation.”
Chairperson Lukat has been the CEO (President) of Schenker Korea, a German logistics company, since 2015. DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG that focuses on logistics. Schenker is a large-scale logistics company that is in charge of overall logistics services such as contract logistics, exhibition logistics, air transport, sea transport, and land transport, but it is not well known to the general public as there is no home delivery business group.
When I asked him if doing business in Korea is getting better after entering his sixth year in Korea, he answered, “The minimum wage is too high which makes it difficult.” “As Korea is an advanced country, it is difficult to expect low wages,” added Chairperson Lukat. “Nevertheless, it is unprecedented that the minimum wage has increased to double digits in two years since 2018. This steep wage increase can undermine a healthy balanced relationship between the government and unions, and it will lower production efficiency not only for European companies but also for Korean companies. The biggest risk is that because of these policies, many companies are trying to leave Korea. “
Chairperson Lukat, a logistics expert who has been working in Asia for 30 years said, “The global supply chain is rapidly changing due to COVID-19, and there are many discussions about whether the globalization has ended due to the prevailing protectionism.” “But I have a positive view on global trade.”, said the Chairperson. “Even if global trade is somewhat reduced in the short term due to the corona virus, more trade will take place in the region as many countries, including Korea and the EU, diversify their supply chains.”
In regards to the changes to global supply chain caused by COVID-19, Chairperson Lukat’s view was different. “With the outbreak of COVID-19, factories around the world were initially closed for more than two months, and the global demand for passenger planes and sea freight plummeted. Industries that had maintained its supply chain mainly in China, such as automotive, were hit hard.”
“However, in the future, the change in supply chain will depend on the type of product,” said Chairperson Lukat. “In the case of expensive high-tech products, even if stocks are accumulated, efforts to diversify the production base will be made, but for low-cost products where technology is not important, reshoring will occur quickly.” He said, “Even if reshoring is not happening immediately, reshoring movement of production bases in Northeast Asia and South Asia especially will start to accelerate.”
Prior to moving to Korea, he worked in Singapore and Vietnam. He is a pro-Korean. Chairperson Lukat said, “I have been living in Asia for 30 years, and the best thing about Seoul is that it is the greenest city. People talk about the air pollution in Korea, but I ride bicycles almost every day.” He explains that there are few cities in Asia where you can work in the city center on weekdays and return to nature on the weekends or after work.
▶▶ He is…
△Joined Schenker Germany in 1986 △Schenker Singapore Sales Manager 1990-1991 △Schenker Vietnam in 1992 △Schenker Singapore Marketing/Logistics/Sales Manager from 1993 to 1997 △Schenker International General Manager from 1998 to 1999 Schenker-Seino (Japan) General Manager △2015~Present CEO of Schenker Korea
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Link to the article: [Maeil Business Newspaper] CEO: 루카트 유럽상의 신임 회장, 한국 그린뉴딜…유럽 기업에도 큰 기회
Jeong Hyun Kim, Manager of PR & Communications
김정현, 홍보&커뮤니케이션 과장
jeonghyun.kim@ecck.or.kr, +82 (0)2 6261 2715