'Little Jeong Ju-young' Passes Away Beside His Brother

Funeral Ceremony for Jeong Sang-yeong, Honorary Chairman of KCC

On the morning of the 3rd, the funeral procession for the late Jeong Sang-young, Honorary Chairman of KCC, is being held at Asan Hospital Funeral Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Jong-hwa and Lee Jun-hyung] Jeong Sang-young, honorary chairman of KCC and the youngest brother of the late Jeong Ju-young, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group, passed away on the 3rd. The burial site is the family cemetery in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Honorary Chairman Jeong was hospitalized at Seoul Asan Medical Center due to deteriorating health at the end of last year and passed away on the 30th of last month under the watchful eyes of his family. He was 84 years old.

The funeral ceremony for Honorary Chairman Jeong was held around 8:20 a.m. at the funeral hall of Seoul Asan Medical Center, attended by his wife Jo Eun-joo, Jeong Mong-jin, chairman of KCC Group, Jeong Mong-ik, chairman of KCC Glass, Jeong Mong-yeol, chairman of KCC Construction, Jeong Mong-jun, chairman of the Asan Foundation, Jeong Mong-gyu, chairman of HDC Group, Jeong Mong-hyuk, CEO of Hyundai Corporation, and Jeong Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group and eldest grandson of the Hyundai family, along with other family members and relatives, bidding farewell to the deceased.

Due to COVID-19, only about 30 people, including family members and a few close relatives, attended the funeral ceremony. On the first floor of the funeral hall, about 100 people including some family members who could not enter the funeral hall and KCC employees paid their respects to the deceased.

Kim Hee-ok, former president of Dongguk University, the alma mater of the deceased, said in a eulogy, "The deceased deeply instilled the high ideals of industrial patriotism and technological advancement in Korean society and departed from this world," adding, "His son and employees who inherited his management philosophy and high ideals will lead the company to great development."

After the funeral ceremony, the deceased was placed in a hearse. The funeral procession left the funeral hall, passed by the KCC headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, which he founded 63 years ago, and the KCC Construction headquarters, then headed to the family burial site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. After the funeral, some relatives including Chairman Jeong Mong-jun and Chairman Jeong Eui-sun were seen exchanging greetings.

On the morning of the 3rd, after the funeral ceremony of the late Jeong Sang-young, Honorary Chairman of KCC, ended at Asan Hospital Funeral Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, was leaving the funeral hall while conversing with Chung Mong-joon, Chairman of the Asan Foundation.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Honorary Chairman Jeong was born in 1936 in Tongcheon, Gangwon Province. Among his siblings, he was called the "Little Jeong Ju-young" due to his similar appearance, speech, and gait, and he himself named his eldest brother, Jeong Ju-young, as the person he respected most.

At the age of 22, in 1958, he founded Geumgang Slate Industry, a company specializing in building materials, and grew it into today's global company KCC. Currently, KCC Group has grown to rank 32nd in the business world based on assets (11 trillion won as of 2020).

He was active in management for over 60 years. Until his health deteriorated at the end of last year, he commuted daily to the KCC office in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Known for his modest and frugal personality, he was a manager who emphasized a sense of ownership and principled management to employees and led by example. With the passing of Honorary Chairman Jeong, the era of the first-generation Hyundai family entrepreneurs with the generational name 'Young (永)' has come to an end.

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