Chae Eun-mi, first Korean CEO of the global firm’s local unit, puts emphasis on employee satisfaction


A growing number of multinational companies are selecting Korean natives to lead their regional offices here. And Chae Eun-mi, representative director of FedEx Korea, hopes her performance will inspire other global firms to consider more Korean executives.

“Companies may want to share their management philosophy by dispatching their own staff at first. But it is obvious Koreans have strength in communicating between the head office and local officials,” she told The Korea Herald in a recent interview.

Chae started her career at Korean Air and Flying Tigers, where she became the youngest division manager at 28. When FedEx acquired Flying Tigers in 1991, she joined the U.S.-based leading package delivery company to serve as a customer service manager.

After serving several other managerial positions, Chae became the first Korean CEO of Korean operation FedEx’s in 2006. Though she didn’t say it was because of her, DHL and United Parcel Service ― the arch rivals of FedEx ― have also replaced foreign managing directors with Koreans over the past few years. 

The 49-year-old, who is still the only female CEO within the male-dominant logistics industry, says there has never been an easy time thus far.

“Employees did not feel comfortable working with a female boss at first. Some customers who had a prejudice against working women bluntly asked right in front of me if they could see a male manager,” she recalled.

“Such cases made me focus on building my own leadership style. Rather than being authoritative, I focused on so-called ‘physical-affection management’ by carefully listening to employees’ opinions.”

Her years of efforts have been effective, maintaining the Korean office’s turnover rate at 2.94 percent, a similar level as at a few favored workplaces here like state-run companies. The number of employees has also increased from 500 to 700 since her inauguration.

“We have a ‘People-Service-Profit’ philosophy, which means when employees are satisfied with their job, they offer better services to customers, leading to increased profits for the company,” she said.

Fueled by strong teamwork among employees, FedEx Korea launched a new Boeing 777F airplane in March last year connecting Incheon and Memphis, Tennessee, the world hub of FedEx, four days a week. The direct flight arrives at 7:30 a.m., earlier than any other delivery flights.

The company has also fortified a nationwide network to better service the growing number of small and medium-sized business clients that are expanding global operations in recent years.

“We came to the Korean market 11 years after our rival (DHL). We have worked to raise brand awareness among Koreans and I feel our efforts have been proven fruitful thus far,” she said.

Even though the head office projected a somewhat negative outlook toward the company’s earnings in the latter half the year in a recent conference call in June, Chae showed confidence about Korean sales.

“It is true that the industry is largely affected by economic environment. But Korea is one of the ‘star countries’ where the sales potential is still huge,” Chae said.

“The market is also expected to have more business opportunities, especially for smaller firms, as the free trade pacts with the U.S. and EU took effect recently,” she said, adding that she always prepares for potential challenges.

That is why the company is also working hard to offer useful tips to small businesses here regarding customs procedures following the implementation of the free-trade agreements.

Recently, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs selected six local logistics firms with an aim to help them compete directly with global players like FedEx and DHL.

“I think it is the right direction for nurturing a home-grown international logistics company, considering Korea’s trade volume is growing,” she said.

She pointed out, however, the domestic market needs to be more transparent and fair, referring to some logistics firms affiliated with major conglomerates that handle most of their in-house services.

“I hope a very specialized logistics firm could be nurtured to offer more professional services based on a worldwide network. To do that, it would take more time,” she said.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)