Newsweek says President Lee Myung-bak’s past experience as a CEO has helped South Korea overcome the global financial crisis.

The U.S. weekly said in an article titled, “South Korea Survived Recession With CEO Tactics,” that when Lee ran Hyundai, he invested aggressively in opening new markets abroad, even through the recession of the early 1980s.

Now, as president, the report said Lee has pushed a similarly aggressive long-term view, which helped South Korea weather the global downturn perhaps better than any other developed nation.

The weekly also cited that in January of last year, Lee encouraged South Korean companies to continue investing, reminding them that in the depths of recession, rough economies always improve and that it is never too early to think about post-crisis strategies.