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Dae-Whan Chang, President and Publisher, Maeil Business Newspaper and TV, Korea
“Knowledge is power”: It’s a saying that goes back to the Romans, but Dae-Whan Chang is updating the phrase for Korea in the 21st century.
“Knowledge” is the key word behind Chang’s vision for the media world and for Korea’s economy – a vision that the publisher promotes through his Maeil Business Newspaper and associated print, TV and electronic media properties; his business training programs and development campaigns; and the annual World Knowledge Forum he organises in Seoul.
At MBN, that vision takes the form of an integrated approach to multimedia publishing – a “knowledge pool” where stories and resources are exchanged by the chief editors from the group’s flagship paper and other business publications, as well as TV and online outlets. The newspaper prints reporters’ Internet addresses, as well as colour-coded boxes that can be scanned with special equipment to link printed articles to more information on the Web.
Viewers of MBN’s TV programming can log onto the Internet to chat with reporters during the broadcast, and Chang says the company’s journalists appear at more than 300 public events a year.
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Outside the newsroom, MBN helps sponsor MBA and corporate training programs, as well as a campaign for kids called “Let’s Learn Economy.” Chang has funded studies and conferences about economic and social development as part of the “Vision Korea” campaign, while the “Internet Korea” campaign is aimed at bridging the country’s deep digital divide.
Finally, the World Knowledge Forum – modelled after the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland – brings 70 to 80 speakers to Seoul in what Chang describes as an “effort to bridge the gap between knowledge haves and knowledge have-nots.”
Chang clearly has an interest in furthering Korea’s economic power as well as MBN’s journalistic knowledge: One of his company’s stated objectives is to help raise Korea’s gross domestic product from $10,000 to $20,000 per capita “and transform Korea into a fundamentally sounder and stronger economy.”
During the presentation, a member of the audience asked about MBN’s profitability. In response, Chang estimated annual revenue at $200 million, but declined to specify the bottom line because a tax audit was being conducted.