KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo on National Pension Opposition: "No Change in Willingness to Compete"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Gu Hyun-mo, the sole candidate for KT's next CEO, responded to the National Pension Service, the largest shareholder, expressing opposition to his reappointment by saying, "Basically, my intention was to compete, and that has not changed."

On the 29th, Gu made these remarks to reporters at the '1st Quantum Technology High-Level Strategic Dialogue' held at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon.

Gu also added, "The National Pension Service's opinion came out late last night, so I will try to understand what it entails."

When asked by reporters whether he believed the evaluation process was sufficiently competitive, he said, "The board of directors seems to think so," and added, "Since I was a candidate, I don't think it's appropriate for me to evaluate that part."

KT's board of directors positively evaluated the enhancement of shareholder value and recommended Gu as the sole candidate for the next CEO the day before. The National Pension Service opposed the KT board's decision, stating, "The CEO candidate selection does not meet the basic principle of a fair competition, which requires transparency and fairness in the process."

Earlier, on the 13th, the CEO Candidate Screening Committee under the board judged Gu's reappointment as suitable, but Gu requested a multiple-candidate evaluation for fairness.

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