Choe Kyoo-bok, CEO and president of Yuhan-Kimberly, was awarded the Order of Civil Merit Dongbaeg Medal on Wednesday at the World Population Day ceremony for his work in promoting family-friendly management and efforts to overcome low birthrates.

After taking office as CEO and president in 2010, Choe introduced the concept of work-life balance through "Smart Work" management and spearheaded efforts for a family-friendly culture and higher fertility, serving as co-chair of the family-friendly forum and future forum, acccording to the company.

Yuhan-Kimberly has been noted for achieving growth through encouraging employee productivity and responsibility, while maintaining a foundation of family-friendly management. The company has received attention as a model for raising birthrates -- the number of women taking maternity leave jumped from 4.8 percent in 2006 to 91.7 percent in 2011.

Choe joined Yuhan-Kimberly’s marketing and development team in 1983 and in 2003 he was given charge of Kimberly-Clark’s infant product business in northeastern Asia. Yuhan-Kimberly manufactures various goods from children’s products to skincare. 

By Kim Min-ju (Ekim9293@gmail.com)