'Reading styles have effect on leadership styles'

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Staff reporter

President Lee Myung-bak is a pragmatic reader who reads fast and prefers business-related books, particularly those written by Jack Welch and Peter Drucker, over fictions or epic tomes.

His predecessor the late President Roh Moo-hyun was an insatiable reader who liked books across all genres, from epic stories and books on future studies to jargon-ridden technical books concerning yachts and yoga.

Choi Jin, a presidential leadership expert who analyzed the reading styles of incumbent President Lee and his seven predecessors in the newly released book entitled “Reading Styles of Eight Presidents,” argued that how the presidents spent their adolescent years and their reading styles have shaped their leadership styles later.

“President Lee, who spent most of his childhood years selling goods at markets, attended a high school providing vocational training programs and majored in business administration in college, tends to read books that provide practical knowledge. His reading style has influenced him to be a pragmatic leader,” Choi said in a press release.

“Roh, who was curious and energetic, was a liberal reader who read all stories. While in office, Roh often took the initiative in conversations as he was knowledgeable and his aides had a hard time answering questions made by the former President.”

According to Choi, the late former President Kim Dae-jung was an avid reader who underlined and took notes and his serving six years in prison trained him to be a careful observer as well as a thorough reader.

President Park Chung-hee tended to read the same books over and over until he fully grasped the whole content, while analyzing and using logics to master them.

Choi said through books, the Presidents set great figures as their role models and that affected their way of managing the nation.

“Lee set the late business tycoon Chung Ju-yung, the founder of Hyundai Group, as his role model, whereas for Roh, it was Abraham Lincoln. Former South African leader Nelson Mandela was Kim Dae-jung’s role model and for Chun Doo-hwan it was Gen. Douglas MacArthur,” Choi said.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr