In 2015, the Republic of Korea was the first Asian country to upgrade its bilateral relationship with the Czech Republic to a "strategic partnership". What are the commitments and benefits resulting from this for both countries? We talked to Youngki Hong, who is the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Czech Republic since summer 2023. "We have been expanding cooperation in various fields, including politics, economy, and people-to-people exchanges. We share universal values such as freedom, human rights, and rule of law. Both countries have also strengthened international cooperation on a broad range of issues, including a firm response to North Korea’s provocations and supporting international solidarity for restoring peace and rebuilding Ukraine."
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"One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others," said the Italian Renaissance politician and writer Niccolo Machiavelli. These words can surely be related to the dramatic development in the automotive industry. The industry has seen more changes over the last three years than in the previous three decades, particularly with the rise of e-mobility. The rapid innovation and change in automotive is also demonstrated by the seemingly "cosmetic change" in the name of the South Korean car company Kia. "The word 'motors' in the original name of Kia Motors no longer fully describes our entire scope. That's why we have chosen 'Movement That Inspires' as our new slogan, which allows us to encompass mobility from a broader point of view," commented Kia Czech CEO Arnošt Barna, and his quote can also serve as a definition of where the entire industry is heading for the next decades to come.
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Before privatization, the state enterprise Bioveta struggled with overemployment, insolvency, technological obsolescence and inefficient management methods. "When we privatized it in the mid-1990s, we had to reduce the number of employees from 250 to 130 in order to have enough money for salaries. In thirty years, we have increased the revenues from seventy million to three billion CZK, while growing our profit from zero to one billion CZK. Today, we employ around 740 people in plants equipped with state-of-the-art technologies. The company’s success is based on our own R&D and sale of final products with high added value. Our sales have been growing for a long time. Last year alone, we grew by dozens of percent," says Libor Bittner, CEO and co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Bioveta based in Ivanovice na Hané.
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Before the war in Ukraine broke out, Russia and Ukraine accounted for around thirty percent of our company's total revenues. "Thanks to the high level of geographical diversification of our export markets and the commitment of our employees, salespeople and distributors in particular, we managed to sell the ordered machines elsewhere. In addition, we reached annual growth of over thirty percent in the last two very complicated years," says Jan Bednář, sales director of the family company BEDNAR FMT.
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While the International Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 105th anniversary this year, the National Committee of the ICC CR is only 25 years old. Meanwhile, the Czech branch has a strong position among the 170 branches across the globe. One example: the ICC’s Paris-based HQ recently assigned the Czech branch with a new project focusing on the integration of ESG strategy into the ICC’s services. We talked about this and many more with Jitka Haubová, Chairwoman of the ICC Czech Republic.
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"For every entrepreneur, it is important to know that their people stand behind them and are willing to accept and fulfill their vision. Innovation makes sense if it motivates your co-workers and if they embrace it. Without that, you won't bring your idea to life, regardless of how amazing it may be," emphasizes Eva Poláchová, member of the board at two of our major insurance companies, namely ČPP and Kooperativa from the Vienna Insurance Group. Mrs. Poláchová has dealt with innovation throughout her whole career, so she is well familiar with the topic.
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