Three Challenges the Next KT CEO Must Address

Over 40 Candidates for Next Representative... Final Selection Next Month
Executive Appointments, Future Vision, and Stock Price Boost as Immediate Challenges

[Image source=Yonhap News]

More than 40 candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the next CEO of KT. As the selection process is progressing smoothly, expectations for the normalization of the company's management are rising. The new CEO will officially begin duties as early as September after the shareholders' meeting next month. Given the prolonged management vacuum, the new CEO faces a mountain of challenges to resolve.

On the 21st, the KT board of directors was reviewing about 40 CEO candidates, including 27 external applicants and around 10 internal candidates. Although the candidate list has not been publicly disclosed, industry sources report that the competition includes former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning Yoon Jong-rok, former National Assembly members Kwon Eun-hee and Kim Sung-tae, former KT Marketing Division head Nam Kyu-taek, former KTF Vice President Kim Ki-yeol, former Korea Communications Commission Standing Commissioner Lee Ki-joo, former POSCO ICT CEO Choi Doo-hwan, Seoul National University Professor Cha Sang-gyun, former KT Mass General Manager (President) Im Heon-moon, former KT Enterprise Division head (President) Park Yoon-young, former BC Card CEO Chae Jong-jin, former LG CNS CEO Kim Young-seop, Sookmyung Women’s University Professor Moon Hyung-nam, and KT Convergence Technology Institute Director (Senior Executive Vice President) Bae Soon-min.

KT plans to finalize one candidate in the first week of August after document and interview evaluations of the internal and external candidates. The next CEO will be appointed at the shareholders' meeting at the end of August.

The new CEO is expected to start work as early as September and begin efforts to normalize the company. While the management direction may change depending on who is chosen, the challenges to be addressed remain the same. The most urgent task is executive-level personnel appointments and organizational restructuring. KT has not conducted executive personnel changes since November 2021. Due to issues in the Koo Hyun-mo CEO system, the regular year-end personnel appointments were not made last year. Currently, there are about 40 executives at the senior manager level awaiting promotion.

Most other executives are serving with expired terms. They continue working by extending their contracts monthly. Major company issues are being handled by Acting CEO Park Jong-wook (President) through the Emergency Management Committee.

A new global market strategy and future vision must also be established. Until now, KT has operated under former CEO Koo’s 'DIGICO KT' strategy.

DIGICO stands for Digital Platform Company. The strategy aimed to strengthen 'ABC' capabilities?Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Cloud?to lead innovation in other industries. It reflected former CEO Koo’s vision to expand beyond domestic telecommunications and B2C-centered business into new businesses, B2B, and global markets.

However, with former CEO Koo’s departure, the intent of DIGICO has been diluted. As the prosecution investigates allegations of 'preferential treatment' involving former CEO Koo, the new CEO faces an unavoidable task of 'erasing Koo Hyun-mo’s traces.' This means devising a new future strategy.

Boosting the stock price is also a challenge. KT’s stock price peaked at 39,300 KRW in August last year, just before the management vacuum, but has steadily declined to 29,300 KRW as of the day before yesterday. To raise the stock price, it is analyzed that stable leadership must be established through personnel and organizational restructuring, and a new, feasible company vision must be presented.

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