韩国央行行长新思维搅动传统观念

When Lee Ju-yeol stepped up to the podium to deliver his farewell speech in April after a 35-year career at South Korea's central bank, most expected a warm and fuzzy sign-off.

今年4月，在韩国的中央银行工作了35年的李柱烈(Lee Ju-yeol)走上讲台发表告别演讲，当时多数人都以为这会是一次温情的告别。

Instead, he lobbed a verbal grenade.

结果他在演讲中扔下了一枚重磅炸弹。

'Many people feel in chaos now because the values and rules that have been built up over the past 60 years were denied in a single day,' Mr. Lee, the senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea, told a stunned audience.

身为韩国央行(Bank of Korea)高级副行长的李柱烈对着台下惊讶的听众说，很多人现在都觉得迷茫，因为过去60年积累起来的价值观和规则仅用一天就被否定了。

An emotional Mr. Lee was taking direct aim at his boss, BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo, who sat in the front row of a packed conference room. Mr. Kim showed no reaction, according to people at the meeting.

情绪激动的李柱烈把矛头直接对准了他的上司、韩国央行行长金仲秀(Kim Choong-soo)。当时在一间拥挤的会议室里，金仲秀就坐在前排。据在场人士说，金仲秀没有做出反应。

Mr. Lee's speech broke the seal on pent-up frustration among many officials at the central bank. Shortly after moving into his post two years earlier, Mr. Kim took an ax to convention: He ignored South Korea's strict age-based organizational hierarchy and promoted relatively young, midlevel officials to take charge of key posts, overseeing many of their previous managers.

李柱烈的演讲道出了央行很多官员日积月累的不满。两年前当上央行行长之后不久，金仲秀就拿陈规旧习开刀。他不顾韩国严格以年龄为基础的等级文化，提拔相对年轻的中层官员负责关键岗位，让很多原先的上司成了下级。

A product of South Korea's roots in Confucian orthodoxy, seniority based on age─even by a single year─runs deep through Korean society and particularly so at a conservative institution like the central bank. When meeting strangers or new colleagues, Koreans will quickly establish each other's age to work out how they should behave and speak to each other. After the shake-up at the BOK, many senior officials left and after Mr. Lee spoke out, some other officials followed his lead.

在韩国,年龄越长（哪怕只长一岁）资格越老的观念深入人心，这是韩国社会以儒家观念为正统的产物，在央行这样一家保守机构更是如此。韩国人在与陌生人或新同事碰面时，会迅速弄清双方的年龄，以明确他们相互之间应该怎样说话和处事。在央行那次调整之后，很多老资格官员离任，而在李柱烈把话讲出之后，很多人也跟着他一块走了。

'It's a humiliating experience for those who spent the better part of their lives at the bank only to see, one day, their juniors take control and ask them to do this and that,' said another BOK deputy governor who left the central bank in April to work at a financial firm. He asked not to be named.

另一位4月份离开央行去一家金融企业工作的副行长说，对于那些大半辈子都在央行工作结果某一天看到晚辈掌权、要他们做这做那的人来说，这种经历让人觉得丢脸。这位前副行长要求匿名。

For the U.S.-educated Gov. Kim, who had worked overseas for many years, the problem was obvious: There were too many senior officials in high-ranking posts, some of whom had been at the bank for over three decades, and too few working-level employees. But in shaking up the BOK, he knew he would face strong opposition.

金仲秀在美国接受教育，有过多年海外工作经历。在他看来，问题非常明显：高级职位上的老资格官员太多，其中一些人在央行工作了30多年，而做具体事情的员工却太少。但在调整人事结构的时候，他知道自己会遭到强烈反对。

'When I thought to myself how to run this organization, it was an unimaginable burden on me,' he told reporters at an event marking his first year in office.

金仲秀在一次纪念他上任一周年的活动期间对媒体说，每次想到该如何管理这一组织时，这对我来说都是一个无法想象的负担。

While the age-based hierarchy at the BOK had reached an extreme, it is a phenomenon that exists across the state and private sectors in South Korea, limiting fast promotion opportunities for younger, talented staff. It is even harder for women than for men, but there are occasional breakthroughs.

虽说韩国央行以年龄为基础的等级文化已经达到了很深的程度，但这也是整个政府和民间普遍存在的一种现象。这种文化限制了年轻有为的员工快速晋升的机会。女性的处境比男性还难，但有时候也会有突破。

When Korean Air 003490.SE -0.74% ─the country's flagship carrier─conducted a regular staff shuffle early this year, it made a point of promoting a 44-year-old woman to an executive-level post as part of a realignment of senior posts, its first in a decade.

今年年初，韩国最大的航空公司大韩航空公司(Korean Air)进行了一次例行人事调整。该公司颇有意味地将一位44岁的女员工提拔至公司高管职位，以此作为高层职位调整的一部分。这是该公司10年来首次提拔女性进入管理层。

'Korean Air is a very conservative company and there have been no drastic personnel changes. But we're moving toward a merit-based system to induce competition,' a spokesman for the company said recently.

该公司发言人最近说，大韩航空是一家非常保守的公司，没有出现过剧烈的人事变动，但我们正在向择优的用人制度转变，以引入竞争。

Age-based hierarchies also work against older job-seekers chasing positions that report to younger supervisors since companies generally try to avoid making managers feel awkward by directing older staff.

基于年龄的人事安排制度也不利于年龄较大的求职者，因为这些求职者应聘的可能是那些其上级年龄比他们小的职位，而各公司一般都尽量避免出现年轻的上级指导年老的下级这种尴尬情况。

According to the National Human Rights Commission, a government body that investigates various discrimination cases, age discrimination by employers accounted for three-fourths of 919 discrimination cases reported between November 2001 and February this year.

据调查各类歧视案件的韩国政府组织韩国国家人权委员会(National Human Rights Commission)透露，在2001年11月至今年2月报告的919宗歧视案件中，涉及雇主年龄歧视的案件数量占比达四分之三。

In March 2010, a new law was introduced banning age discrimination at work, prompting a jump in the number of reported cases. Some companies have been given corrective orders or fined but many are still reluctant to strictly follow the rules, said officials at the commission and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

2010年3月，韩国引入一项新的法律禁止工作场合的年龄歧视现象，这引发此类案件上报数量激增。韩国国家人权委员会和韩国雇佣劳动部(Ministry of Employment and Labor)的负责人说，一些企业已经收到整改令或被罚款，但很多企业仍然不愿意严格遵守有关规定。

Park Jin-su, a ministry official who handles corporate equal opportunities, said the nation is gradually moving away from adherence to age hierarchy. 'There's been a change in corporate mind about who's the right person for the company since the age-discrimination law took effect. Many companies know it's simply not right to block young people from leapfrogging old ones for higher posts,' he said.

韩国雇佣劳动部负责企业内部机会平等方面事务的官员Park Jin-su说，韩国正在逐渐抛弃坚持依年龄提拔人才的用人制度。他说，自从反年龄歧视的法律生效以来，企业意识发生了转变，对于“适才适所的认识进一步加深，很多企业知道阻止年轻员工超越老员工晋升至更高层级的岗位是不对的。

South Korea has already tasted success in the sporting arena by prioritizing merit over age.

在体育赛场上，韩国已经尝到了择优先于“择老的甜头。

When Dutch soccer coach Guus Hiddink took the reins of the South Korean men's national soccer team ahead of the 2002 World Cup, he confronted an internal hierarchy so stifling that younger players felt obliged to pass the ball to older players. Mr. Hiddink promoted junior players to the first team and tossed out the deference to elders as part of a wholesale revamp of the side.

当荷兰足球教练希丁克(Guus Hiddink)在2002年世界杯前执掌韩国国家男子足球队时，他面对的是僵化到令人窒息的内部体制：年轻球员感到有义务把球传给年长球员。希丁克提拔年轻球员进入首发阵容，抛弃遵从长者的传统，以此作为其全面整改球队的举措之一。

The South Korean team became the first from Asia to reach the semifinal stage of the tournament. Mr. Hiddink became a national hero and management courses briefly sprang up preaching the 'Hiddink Way' of running organizations.

结果韩国队成了亚洲首支挤入世界杯半决赛的球队。希丁克成了韩国国家英雄，鼓吹“希丁克之道的组织管理学课程如雨后春笋般冒了出来。

At the BOK, Gov. Kim said he is happy with what he has achieved so far despite continued disgruntlement among some employees.

韩国央行行长金仲秀说，尽管还有一些员工感到不满，但他对迄今为止取得的成绩感到高兴。

'Unlike in the past, many midlevel officials are now attending international conferences, which I'm very proud of. There have been changes made to the hardware [the hierarchical structure]. I will spend the rest of my time here ensuring the software runs well,' he said.

金仲秀说，和过去不同的是，许多中层官员现在也能参加国际会议了，对此我感到非常骄傲；韩国央行层级结构方面的“硬件已经发生变化，我将在任期余下的时间里确保这里的“软件正常运行。