=News release= Mar. 18 -Some 500 Cost-Cutting Ideas to be Implemented?Company-Wide Information Sharing through Bulletin Boards -30 Billion Won Cut From Annual Operation Costs? New Start 20 in Full SwingSK chemicals is handling its current operational challenges through a new management strategy called ?hurdle management.? Hurdles are the obstacles leapt over by athletes in the track and field race of the same name. It differs from other obstacle sports in that the obstacles are neither too high nor too low (the highest hurdles are 107 cm). They are in anyone?s reach as long as they try hard enough. Indeed, they are not Everest or any other insurmountable height. Accordingly, hurdle management means a management strategy that aims to divide large obstacles into attainable hurdle-like units so as to conquer them one by one. The goal thus is to tackle management challenges in a rational order, as aided by repeated practice and thoroughly mapped out strategies.SK chemicals? recently launched company-wide campaign, ?OI (Operation Improvement)?, is precisely based on the above-described athletic event. The annual goal is divided according to stages into 500 hurdles. These 500 hurdles are being posted at every step on bulletin boards both at Seoul headquarters, and at the Suwon and Ulsan plants. And they are updated on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The noteworthy aspect in hurdle management is that performance is to be recorded always in amounts of money. Each and every idea proposed for improvement is expressed either in terms of sales amounts or cost cuts, and the goals set forth by these ideas are realistic hurdles that within the reach of every employee. The strategy of hurdle management is referred to as, and coincides with, the ?New Start 20? plan of SK chemicals. In other words, the proposed OI essentially intends to achieve cost cutting, which is a project already is being carried out under the all-encompassing slogan of New Start 20. Sustained efforts to enhance operation while reducing costs should lead to a forecasted 20% annual increase in company value, thus marking the beginning of a new management phase. Hence, the dynamic moniker ?New Start.? The preliminary calculation of estimated costs is being followed by the establishment of a realistic new downward budget. Concrete goals are now being set for these cost-reduction efforts. Under the aim of 40% cost reduction, operation reform (hurdling) will be carried out until the company attains the set goal. Easier said than done, this will present a substantial challenge to all levels of the company?s operation. The project requires determination and willingness to accept hardship on behalf of each and every employee. Jeong In-Su, the hurdle champion who is overseeing the proper implementation of this hurdle management scheme said, ?Our brainstorming effort to collect ideas concluded in January. Based on these ideas, hurdle management is already in effect at the Ulsan and Suwon plants. We expect to see tangible results from this campaign by the second quarter on. If led successfully, the campaign can result in a 30 billion won cost cut this year.?