KT Next CEO Appointment 'Reset'... Future of Koo Hyun-mo Administration

KT Board of Directors Strengthens Transparency and Fairness
Reinitiates Appointment Through Open Competitive Process

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The appointment process for KT's next CEO has been 'reset.' It has been 44 days since KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo was selected as the final candidate. This action was taken following external criticism that the CEO appointment process of a widely held governance company was not transparent. KT's board of directors announced that it will relaunch the next CEO appointment process through an open competition method to enhance transparency and fairness.

Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT

Primary Race Starts from the 10th

The primary race will begin on the 10th. An appointment advisory group will be formed by the 16th, and document submissions will be accepted until the 20th. First, to ensure a fair process, KT's Governance Committee will form an appointment advisory group consisting of external experts in economic management, leadership, partnership investment, legal affairs, and future industries. The CEO Candidate Screening Committee will conduct interviews with internal and external candidates selected by the Governance Committee and select the CEO candidate screening targets on the 28th. The board will finalize one CEO candidate from those decided by the CEO Candidate Screening Committee on the 7th of next month.

CEO Koo expressed his intention to "compete openly." Other individuals considered potential contenders for the KT leadership position include former KTF Vice President Kim Ki-yeol, former lawmaker Kim Sung-tae (IT special advisor for the Yoon Seok-yeol campaign), former KT Networks Network Engineering Division Head Lee Kyung-soo, former KT Mass General Manager Lim Heon-moon, former KT Corporate Division President Park Yoon-young, former Samsung SDS CEO Hong Won-pyo, former Minister of Information and Communication Noh Joon-hyung, KT Transformation Division Head Yoon Kyung-rim, and Ko Jin, Chairman of the Presidential Digital Platform Government Committee.

Third Appointment Process, Next CEO Candidate Confirmation Nullified

This is the first time KT's board has conducted the appointment process three times. CEO Koo, who expressed his intention to renew his term last November, was evaluated as "eligible for renewal" but voluntarily requested a primary race to compete with multiple candidates. Accordingly, the board reviewed 27 internal and external candidates and reconfirmed CEO Koo as the sole candidate for the next CEO at the end of last year.

However, the National Pension Service (NPS), KT's largest shareholder, intervened, citing procedural issues. The NPS holds a 9.95% stake in KT. The NPS criticized KT's CEO appointment process, stating that "the candidate selection does not comply with the fundamental principle of a primary race, which requires transparency and fairness in the procedure."

The political sphere also sided with the NPS. People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sik recently mentioned at a seminar the controversy over CEO Koo Hyun-mo's segmented donations, saying, "Cases where unqualified individuals renew their CEO positions occur frequently," and added, "Although it may be criticized as government intervention in the short term, this is an opportunity to activate the NPS's stewardship code." President Yoon Seok-yeol also stated during a recent Financial Services Commission briefing, "The stewardship code of widely held companies must function." Subsequently, KT outside director Lee Kang-cheol, considered an appointee of the previous administration, voluntarily resigned. KT seemed to hope the atmosphere would change due to this outside director's resignation, but it had no effect.

Mixed Internal Reactions, Subsidiaries Also at a Standstill

Internal sentiments are divided. Since privatization, some say the company is swayed by external forces whenever the government changes, leading to feelings of self-doubt and calls for a direct confrontation. On the other hand, some argue that at this point, the CEO should voluntarily step down for the company's sake. As the CEO appointment process continues to be delayed, the company is in a state of temporary closure. The usual organizational restructuring and personnel changes conducted between November and December have been postponed, causing executives to renew their contracts monthly. There is a saying that executives are temporary employees, meaning they must leave once their contract expires. Many executives are in expired contract status but continue to work by signing temporary contracts monthly. New business initiatives have also halted. Subsidiaries are also at a standstill. A KT subsidiary official said, "The organization is not moving," adding, "It will be difficult to normalize operations until the regular shareholders' meeting next month."

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