GS Group 'Uigoneun Hyeongje'

Honorary Chairman Huh Chang-soo of GS Group (left) and Chairman Huh Tae-soo

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Huh Chang-soo, Honorary Chairman of GS Group, and Huh Tae-soo, Chairman of GS Group, are showing strong brotherly affection by commuting side by side to the same building.

According to industry sources on the 30th, Huh Tae-soo, who took over as chairman of GS Group this year, moved his office from GS Home Shopping in Mullae-dong to the GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, the group's control tower, earlier this year.

Huh Chang-soo, who stepped down as chairman with two years left in his term and became honorary chairman, also kept his office in GS Tower, so the two brothers are essentially under "one roof."

While it is unusual for both the predecessor and successor chairmen to have offices in the same building, GS Group internally accepts this naturally.

Huh Chang-soo, the eldest son of the late Huh Joon-gu, honorary chairman of GS Construction (formerly LG Construction) and the third son of the founder, the late Huh Man-jung, and Huh Tae-soo, the youngest (fifth son), have a large age gap of nine years and are known to have a close brotherly bond.

With Huh Chang-soo stepping down from the chairman position and also relinquishing the chairmanship of the board, it is observed that Huh Tae-soo can carry out independent and principled management without any difficulties.

Some interpret that Huh Chang-soo's decision not to move his office to GS Construction, which is like a personal company, is to support Huh Tae-soo’s eldest son, Huh Yoon-hong, who was appointed president this year and has taken a leading role in management.

Although Huh Chang-soo retains the chairmanship of GS Construction, he is stepping back to watch over and allow his eldest son, who is showing prominence in new businesses, to lead the projects proactively.

An industry insider said, "It may seem unusual from the outside, but it is a beautiful scene created by consideration for the elder brother and the son," adding, "The new and old helping each other settle in is not a bad sight."

Meanwhile, since his inauguration, Chairman Huh Tae-soo has emphasized digital transformation and is integrating new management philosophies such as collaboration and openness into GS Group’s organizational culture.

Recently, Huh Tae-soo attended the 'Stanford Design Thinking Symposium 2020' with about 100 executives and employees from affiliates, emphasizing that through building cooperative relationships with various business partners including startups, he will continue to drive innovation.

GS Group is leading all its affiliates with the theme of 'innovation,' continuously pursuing digital transformation and discovering new business areas.

Among the affiliates, GS Retail established a "future-type convenience store" at the BC Card headquarters in Euljiro 4-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, earlier this year. The model applies automatic payment simply by customers picking up items without a cashier.

GS Construction is also seeking new growth engines beyond its existing business. On the 9th, GS Construction signed an agreement and announced plans to invest about 100 billion won by 2022 in the secondary battery industry within the recycling regulation-free special zone in Yeongilman 4 General Industrial Complex, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.