Koo Hyun-mo Administration's 2nd Term Reshuffle Executed... Accelerating 'Digico' Transition (Comprehensive)

Organizational Restructuring and Executive Appointments
Focus on 탈통신 and Strengthening B2B
Establishment of Enterprise Division
Half of New Executives in Their 40s Appointed

[Asia Economy reporters Seolgina Jo and Chaeun Koo] Under the leadership of CEO Koo Hyun-mo, KT is ending its 'two-top system' experiment maintained for one year since his inauguration and entering a second-phase management system based on joint management by the president team. Following CEO Koo, Park Yoon-young, the second-in-command and head of the Enterprise Division (President), has been replaced by Executive Vice President Shin Soo-jung, and the headquarters executives have also undergone a major reshuffle.

The plan is to solidify a loyal management system to unify decision-making and to accelerate the transformation into a world-class digital platform company (Digico). By division, special emphasis was placed on the previously highlighted business-to-business (B2B) and AI/DX (Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation) sectors.

Full-Scale Digico Transformation

On the morning of the 11th, KT implemented the 2021 regular organizational restructuring and executive appointments reflecting these changes. To strengthen the B2B brand 'KT Enterprise,' launched in November last year, the existing Enterprise Division was reorganized into the 'Enterprise Division,' and IT expert Executive Vice President Shin Soo-jung was transferred as the division head. Park Yoon-young, who had been the head of the Enterprise Division and the second-in-command, stepped down from his position.

Vice President Shin’s appointment is expected to mark a new turning point for KT’s B2B business. She will take on a leading role in strengthening non-telecom capabilities and accelerating new businesses such as DX. Since KT has set a goal to increase the non-telecom revenue share, which currently accounts for 35% of total sales, to 50% by 2025, more power is expected to be given to the organization leading the non-telecom sector.

The AI/DX Convergence Business Division was also significantly strengthened. Song Jae-ho, former head of the Media Platform Business Division, was appointed as head of the AI/DX Convergence Business Division and Chief Digital Transformation Officer (CDXO, Executive Vice President). Under this division, KT Labs was newly established to promote new business initiatives. Additionally, Kim Chae-hee, head of the AI and Big Data Business Division, was promoted to head of the Strategic Planning Office, positioning her as the control tower for the group-level ABC (AI, Big Data, Cloud) business going forward.

In this personnel reshuffle, CEO Koo carried out a large-scale generational change, filling half of the 20 new executive positions with people in their 40s. As a result, the total number of KT executives decreased by more than 10% from the previous year to 87, with 28.7% of all executives now in their 40s. The number of promoted female executives increased from just one last year to three. This is interpreted as a strategic move for the group’s restructuring (business structure reorganization). An industry insider commented, "Next year is a crucial period in the middle of the three-year term, so organizational renewal is necessary to achieve definite results."

Koo Hyun-mo Solidifies Loyal Management System

The 'two-top system' between CEO Koo and President Park Yoon-young, which lasted for the past year, has ended. Kang Guk-hyun, head of the Customer Division, and Park Jong-wook, head of the Management Planning Division, were promoted from Executive Vice Presidents to Presidents, establishing a three-member president team joint management system with CEO Koo. However, this is regarded as having effectively solidified a loyal management system. Especially with CEO Koo entering his second year and showing determination to enhance corporate value and strengthen company-wide B2B, it is expected that the 'Koo Hyun-mo single command' system will be firmly established for faster decision-making and organizational restructuring.

Going forward, President Kang will play a central role in strengthening customer-centric management, while President Park will focus on the ABC-based Digico transformation. Alongside them, Song Jae-ho, head of the Media Platform Business Division; Kim Hyung-wook, head of the Future Value Task Force; and Jung Ki-ho, CEO of Nasmedia, were promoted to Executive Vice Presidents.

The six regional headquarters will also have expanded responsibilities, reflecting CEO Koo’s emphasis on field management. KT plans to increase the autonomy of regional headquarters and strengthen regional responsibility management. To this end, the number of executives in regional headquarters was increased from 16 to 21. Although the total number of KT executives decreased by more than 10%, the number of regional executives responsible for customer service increased by more than 30%.

Since KT is planning group restructuring that includes spinning off and listing new businesses starting next year, many subsidiary presidents are also expected to be replaced. The signal for group restructuring has already been raised with moves such as strengthening digital commerce through the merger of KTH and KT M-House.

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