‘Bangladesh will never fail’

People’s resilience will never allow Bangladesh to become a failure, said Kihak Sung, chairman of Youngone Corporation.
He made the comments in his keynote speech before receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 22nd DHL-The Daily Star Bangladesh Business Awards ceremony at the Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden hotel yesterday.
He was honoured for his contribution to export, job creation and industrialisation in Bangladesh.
Sung, a South Korean, has been operating the export-oriented garment giant for over four decades.
Youngone, which has a huge facility in Chattogram, has operations in several countries, including Vietnam. It exports goods worth around $1.17 billion annually from Bangladesh.
In his speech, Sung said he is known as a Bangladeshi man in Korea for his 44 years of business in Bangladesh.
In his journey, he saw many opportunities in businesses along with some struggles.
He thanked former ambassador Farooq Sobhan, the then foreign secretary, for giving him advice in operating the business.
“I’m immensely grateful for all the things that happened to me,” he said, and thanked the people of Bangladesh for making his life “really fruitful”.
He mentioned that many of his clients had sent encouraging letters over the last few weeks regarding Bangladesh’s future.
“I have a very good feeling about the future of Bangladesh. However, we need to really, practically work it out — how we can get out of the present difficult situation.”
If the investors and the government work together, all the problems can be solved, he said.
“Especially, I want to deliver a message to my Korean community, including the government, to join hands in its [Bangladesh’s] development path,” he added.