KT's Next CEO Candidate Selection, Board Meeting on the 7th as a Turning Point

KT's Direct Challenge, Afternoon Notification of Interview Results for 4 Candidates

KT will select and announce its final CEO candidate on the afternoon of the 7th. Despite pressure from the ruling party, KT's board of directors has chosen to confront the situation head-on. However, uncertainties remain due to variables such as the resignation declarations of outside directors and opposition from the largest shareholder, the National Pension Service.

KT Proceeding According to Procedure

On this day, KT's board will conduct interviews with four CEO candidates and notify the results in the afternoon. The interviewees are Park Yoon-young, former head of KT's Enterprise Division (President); Yoon Kyung-rim, head of KT Group Transformation Division (President); Shin Soo-jung, head of KT Enterprise Division (Vice President); and Lim Heon-moon, former head of KT Mass Division (President).

Currently, KT's board consists of eight members (two inside directors and six outside directors), down from ten. This reduction followed the mid-term resignation of outside director Lee Kang-cheol in January and the voluntary resignation of director Benjamin Hong (Chairman of the Board at LINA Life Insurance) on the 5th. The inside directors are CEO Koo Hyun-mo and Division Head Yoon Kyung-rim. The interviews will be conducted by the six outside directors: Chairman Kang Chung-gu, Kim Dae-yu (outside director of DB Life Insurance), Yoo Hee-yeol (Chairman of the Korea Carbon Capture and Storage Research Center, KCRC), Pyoh Yeon-myung (outside director of Hankook Tire & Technology), Yeo Eun-jung (Professor of Business Administration at Chung-Ang University), and Kim Yong-heon (lawyer at Daeryuk Aju Law Firm).

The next leader of KT will be determined on this day unless the candidates voluntarily withdraw. The board also needs to fill five outside director vacancies: three whose terms end this month?Pyoh Yeon-myung, Kang Chung-gu, and Yeo Eun-jung?and two who resigned mid-term. As a listed company, KT must convene a shareholders' meeting within 90 days after the fiscal year-end. Since KT's fiscal year ends in December, the shareholders' meeting must be held before March ends. Additionally, the meeting notice and agenda must be announced two weeks in advance. KT plans to handle the appointment of the next CEO and outside directors at the regular shareholders' meeting scheduled for the end of this month.

KT Faces Multiple Challenges

If the CEO appointment process proceeds as planned, the outcome will likely be decided by a vote at the shareholders' meeting. The consensus is that KT's chances of winning the vote are low. The National Pension Service (8.53%), Hyundai Motor Group (7.79%), and Shinhan Bank (5.58%) are likely to cast opposing votes under government influence. The National Pension Service is also the largest shareholder of Shinhan Financial Group (8.29%) and the second-largest shareholder of Hyundai Motor (7.78%). However, there is a variable: if minority shareholders actively exercise their voting rights, the atmosphere could change. Recently, foreign and institutional investors have been selling KT shares, causing the stock price to remain weak. Over the past three months, the stock price has dropped nearly 20%.

Some KT minority shareholders are preparing for 'collective action' as shareholder numbers decline. At the end of last month, a 'KT Shareholders Meeting' community was established on the portal site Naver, where about 270 minority shareholders are discussing raising their voices. Minority shareholders hold 57% of KT's shares (as of last September). If the board fails to proceed with the final CEO candidate selection as planned or if the final candidate does not pass the shareholders' meeting vote, a management vacuum will be inevitable. Transitioning to an acting CEO system and entering emergency management would make executive appointments and major business initiatives difficult. When former Chairman Lee Seok-chae stepped down mid-term in 2013, Pyoh Yeon-myung, then head of the Telecom & Convergence Division, served as acting CEO.

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