Trade Association's Next Chairman Likely Gu Ja-yeol... All Five Major Economic Group Leaders Are Businesspeople

Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of LS Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Gu Ja-yeol, chairman of LS Group, is reportedly the leading candidate for the next chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). If Chairman Gu is unanimously endorsed at the KITA chairman meeting scheduled for the 19th, all five major economic organizations will be led by chairpersons with business backgrounds.

According to the business community on the 16th, KITA held an extraordinary chairman meeting to discuss the appointment of the 31st chairman. It is known that member companies reached a consensus to nominate Chairman Gu as the next chairman at this meeting.

If Chairman Gu is finally elected at the KITA regular general meeting scheduled for the 24th, he will become the fourth chairman from the business sector in history. Since Kim Jae-cheol, honorary chairman of Dongwon Group (served 1999?2006), all KITA chairpersons have been former government officials. It will be the first time in 15 years that a businessperson has taken the helm. If Chairman Gu leads KITA, he will also set a remarkable record by succeeding his late father, Gu Pyeong-hoe, honorary chairman of E1 (served 1994?1999), who served as the 22nd and 23rd chairman.

Thus, the heads of the five major economic organizations?including KITA, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Employers Federation, the Federation of Korean Industries, and the Korea Federation of SMEs?are all expected to be businesspeople. This is an unprecedented development.

The Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to hold a general meeting on the 24th to elect Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, as its next chairman. This will be the first time a head of a top 4 conglomerate leads the Seoul Chamber. The Federation of Korean Industries currently has no clear candidate for the next chairman, and attention is focused on whether Heo Chang-soo, honorary chairman of GS Group, will serve a fourth term. Although Chairman Heo has repeatedly expressed his intention to step down, no suitable successor has emerged.

The Korea Employers Federation’s chairman, Sohn Kyung-shik of CJ Group, is serving the remainder of his term. For the recently vacated position of full-time vice chairman, Kim Yong-geun, Sohn and Lee Dong-geun, president of the Hyundai Research Institute who previously worked with Sohn at the Seoul Chamber, are considered strong candidates. The Korea Employers Federation plans to hold a chairman meeting on the 17th to discuss the vice chairman succession and then elect a successor at the general meeting on the 24th. A business community official said, "There are pros and cons, but there is hope that having businesspeople who understand the industrial field lead economic organizations will properly represent the voices of the industry."

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