Lee Han-woong, chief executive of Santen Pharmaceutical Korea, has been named one of the Most Respected CEOs in Korea for 2025 by the Great Place to Work Institute, an award that measures how employees rate their own workplace rather than how the market rates the company.
Santen Korea is the local arm of the Santen Group and has operated in the country since 2000. It specialises in ophthalmology, the treatment of eye conditions, and holds the largest share of the domestic eye care market.
What the award measures
The recognition rests on organisational culture rather than sales. The institute pointed to flexible working, a system for employees to recognise one another's contributions, and efforts to build trust between staff and management. Under Lee, the company also recorded its strongest sales and profitability in Asia, results the parent group has leaned on for global growth.
The two facts are presented together for a reason. The argument behind an award like this is that the culture and the numbers are connected, that a workforce which rates its employer highly is also one that performs, though the direction of that relationship is easier to assert than to prove.
In his words
Lee framed his approach as collective rather than individual. Personal achievement and organisational success, he said, are not a matter of choice but should always be considered together.
He said he intends to keep strengthening a culture centred on trust, respect and collaboration.