The International Monetary Fund's $57 billion bailout to help repair South Korea's flagging economy might seem like some much-needed salve, but sources say what this Asian country also needs is an image makeover, and private negotiations are underway for Burson-Marsteller to provide the PR fix.
BM execs, including Harold Burson, refused to disclose to PR NEWS whether or not it's in the process of inking an agreement with South Korea; however, South Korea's Financial Attache' Nam Kwung Woo confirmed that BM, last week, was still "the strongest candidate" being considered by the South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy. Nam works out of the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., and wouldn't reveal the other firms being scouted.
In addition, a source inside BM told PR NEWS that BM Managing Director and consultant John Bohn and BM Executive VP and Managing Director Michael Claes did, indeed, make a recent trip to South Korea to discuss the deal with leaders there. Korean officials have already traveled to New York for meetings with U.S. bank officials and are working feverishly to restructure the debt that's owed to banks in the U.S., Japan and Europe, according to The Washington Post.
For communicators specializing in international PR, the Asian crisis is as much a cry for reputation management as it is for discovering economic elixirs in global markets. Historically, many Asian countries (Japan primarily) have been adept at global competition, but not all Asian governments have been schooled in the art of PR - truly a democratic concept.
The Price Tag For High-Profile PR
An unnamed source told PR NEWS that the South Korean government has tartgeted between $10 and $20 million for PR cleanup funds, including what's sure to be some whitewashing in Washington, D.C. and Wall Street - two venues where newly elected President Kim Dae Jung is seeking financial and political advocates.
South Korea's Kim has already touted his administration's plan to increase South Korea's export volume and attract foreign investors as part of its economic-reform efforts.
BM is already in the throes of PR work with the Indonesian government, which hired the firm in 1992 and still has a business relationship with the New York-headquartered company, according to Department of Justice documents obtained by PR NEWS. DOJ records also show that BM was hired by the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee in 1986, working with the organization until the end of 1988.
Massaging PR for Democracy's Sake?
Part of what's led to Korea's image problem is that its society, business culture and former dictatorships have little knowledge of PR as it applies to crisis communications, investor relations and reaching government/business consensus, says Craig Coleman, director of PR, training and research for Cheil Communications, a subsidiary of Samsung, a conglomerate (its semiconductor arm is based in South Korea).
Coleman worked as the press liaison for the Korean Ministry of Information for seven years before joining Samsung and authoring a just-released book, "American Images of Korea" published by Hollym, Seoul.
"Koreans, generally, haven't understood how to present an issue," Coleman says. "They hold on to information until the crisis moment, but the problem is no one has had the needed expertise to put the right spin on it...PR has generally been practiced as publicity work that centers around personalities. Now, it will be about image."
Details on the Dealings
The strategic advice that's likely to be fed to Korean officials will be two-fold, according to sources. What's needed is expertise to achieve both internal and external communications goals that center around strengthening the country's business infrastructure and restoring outside faith in its economy.
And it's also probable that several routes will be taken, including:
- Communicating to the international financial community how the Korean stock market works;
- Lobbying for product-quality standards;
- Aligning political reforms with economic ideologies;
- Restructuring Korea's family-owned conglomerates; and
- Improving its relationships with foreign investors through aggressive tactics that not only promote Korean businesses but Korean business ethics.
(Craig Coleman, 213/368-4218; DOJ's Foreign Agent Registration division, 202/514-1216; BM, 212/614-4000; Korean Embassy, 202/797-6338)