Zara Retail Korea Appoints 30s Leader... First Task Is 'Internal Cohesion'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The head of Zara Retail Korea, operated by the global fashion company Inditex, has been abruptly replaced. A shocking appointment of a 'president in his 30s' was made, and the new CEO's first task was to strengthen internal cohesion.

According to the fashion industry and Zara Retail Korea on the 2nd, Song Jaeyong (38), born in 1983, was recently unexpectedly appointed as the new president of Zara Retail Korea. Song joined Inditex in 2008, overseeing sales in China, Korea, and Japan, and from 2018 until March this year, he managed sales in Australia and New Zealand.

After 13 years of internal promotion since joining the company, Song was promoted to president and reportedly took internal consolidation as his first task upon assuming office. Over the past decade, Zara Retail Korea, led by former president Lee Bongjin, experienced continuous internal conflicts and a steady outflow of employees.

Former president Lee was at the center of controversy in 2016 due to derogatory remarks about the candlelight protests during an external lecture. This even led to a 'Zara boycott movement.'

Additionally, the coercive work orders from key executives became problematic. During the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, about 20 employees held a group meeting under the direction of one executive, during which some employees' movements overlapped with those of confirmed COVID-19 patients, causing internal controversy. Despite this, the executive continued to order group meetings, and dissatisfaction with such coercive work orders reportedly led to employee resignations. This year alone, five employees have left Zara Retail Korea.

B, an employee at Zara Retail Korea, said, "During the tenure of the former president, many people left the company due to personal tasks assigned or the coercive work attitude of executives," adding, "We are hopeful for organizational culture change with the appointment of a young president." Song recently heard about these issues through employee interviews and is focusing on understanding the situation and reorganizing internally.

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