Kim Jeong-su, Samyang CEO, Returns to Board as ESG Committee Chair

Samyang Foods Board Restructuring "Accelerating ESG Management"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Kim Jeong-su, General Manager of Samyang Foods, is undergoing the registration process to be appointed as the inaugural ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Committee Chair and registered director.

On the 9th, Samyang Foods announced that it will establish an ESG Committee through the shareholders' meeting on the 26th. The ESG Committee is a dedicated top decision-making body responsible for establishing and evaluating sustainable management strategies related to environment, society, and governance.

The inaugural ESG Committee Chair will be General Manager Kim Jeong-su. While Kim will retain his position as General Manager, he will step down from the CEO role. Executive Directors Jung Tae-woon (Production) and Jin Jong-gi (Management) will serve as co-CEOs of Samyang Foods. Effectively, the ESG Committee will be positioned at the highest level of Samyang Foods' management.

General Manager Kim is the mastermind behind Samyang Foods' top hit product, "Buldak Bokkeum Myun" (Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen). After being convicted last January for embezzlement of company funds, Kim returned to the CEO position in October following employment approval from the Ministry of Justice.

The chairperson of the board has not yet been decided but is expected to be appointed separately, with a high possibility of being an outside director.

Samyang Foods increased the number of outside directors from one to four, making outside directors the majority of the board. The outside directors are experts in accounting, law, finance, and human resources with verified independence, and to ensure board diversity, one female outside director was included. Through a disclosure on the 8th, Samyang Foods confirmed outside director candidates: Professor Hong Cheol-gyu of Chung-Ang University (Ph.D. in Accounting), Attorney Jeong Mu-sik, Lee Hee-soo, CEO of accounting firm Yegyojiseong (specializing in financial management diagnosis), and Kang So-yeop, Director of HSG Human Solution Group's Donggi Science Research Institute.

Once the board is reorganized at the shareholders' meeting at the end of this month, Samyang Foods' ESG management is expected to accelerate further. Last month, Samyang Foods prepared to support board operations by establishing departments responsible for internal accounting control and compliance support and appointing a compliance officer through organizational restructuring.

A Samyang Foods official stated, "Through this board reorganization, we have laid the foundation to fully activate ESG management," adding, "We will designate this year as the inaugural year of ESG management and aim to enhance corporate value by achieving results in various areas such as environmental protection, social contribution, and governance."

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