Former Samsung chairman most respected by singles

Single people have picked former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee as the most respected person, showed a survey released yesterday.

Lee received an 8.4 percent vote in the survey of 467 single persons, which was conducted by Sunwoo, a major wedding consultant firm.

The respondents were asked to pick their most revered social figure and a personal role model in each of the various fields such as politics, economy, society and sports.

Figure skating champion Kim Yu-na came second with 7.4 percent, followed by soccer player Park Ji-sung with 6 percent. Former President Roh Moo-hyun and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon followed with 4.7 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

The ex-Samsung head also received the most votes in the economic section with 39.1 percent. The most popular figures in the sports, politics and social sections were Kim Yu-na (29.5 percent), Park Geun-hye, former leader of the ruling Grand National Party (20.8 percent) and singer Kim Jang-hoon (7.5 percent), respectively.

"The respondents were asked to vote twice, once for each category and once regardless of the categories," explained an employee of Sunwoo.

Opinions vary on the survey results, especially concerning the nation`s most famous businessman.

"Though I don`t know much about Lee Kun-hee, I am proud of him for boosting the economy and for being globally renowned as a successful businessman," said Hong Ja-ram, a university graduate. "Major companies like Samsung largely contribute to our economy by hiring hundreds and thousands of freshmen each year and elevating the national image in the global market."

Though admitting Lee`s economic achievements, some people gave negative evaluations on the person himself.

"Respecting a person means looking up to both the personality and achievements of that person," said Jung Ji-won, a graduate student. "I think they mostly meant that they wanted to follow his examples of economic success, not that they really respected him in the true sense of the word."

Some pointed out that the survey was biased and not in accord with the general social opinion.

"The respondents, all being members of this wedding consulting firm, are likely to be relatively well-off," said Ahn Ji-eun, a university student. "Moreover, I guess that they tend to be corporate-friendly, and value financial abilities, especially in their future spouses."

Ethical concerns were highlighted in the survey results.

"Lee Kun-hee may have shown outstanding results, but he has often disappointed the public by financial and moral scandals," said Ham Ji-yeon, a university graduate. "This shows that Koreans tend to focus on the results only, ignoring the importance of processes."

By Bae Hyun-jung



(tellme@heraldm.com)