Who Will Lead the 25 Trillion KRW KT Group? Three-Way Battle Among Insiders, Academia, and Competitors

Financial Expert Kim Young-seop from LG
B2B Specialist 'KT Man' Park Yoon-young
AI and Big Data Authority Cha Sang-gyun

The next CEO candidates to lead the KT Group, with sales of 25 trillion won, have been narrowed down to three. On the 27th, the KT Board of Directors selected former LG CNS CEO Kim Young-seop, former KT Enterprise Division Head (President) Park Yoon-young, and Seoul National University Professor Cha Sang-gyun as the final candidates for in-depth interviews. KT plans to conduct all the in-depth interviews in early next month on the same day and finalize one candidate.

The three-way race to decide the next leader can be summarized as an academic background (Cha Sang-gyun), KT insider (Park Yoon-young), and competitor company background (Kim Young-seop). Since KT's privatization in 2002, no CEO from academia or competitor companies has ever been appointed. Following former CEO Ku Hyun-mo, a 35-year 'KT man,' it is at a crossroads whether a second consecutive internal candidate will become CEO or an external CEO will be appointed.

38-year ‘LG Man’ Kim Young-seop

Kim Young-seop, former CEO of LG CNS

Born in 1959, former LG CNS CEO Kim Young-seop was born in Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk. He graduated from Gyeongbuk Provincial Daegu High School and Korea University with a degree in Business Administration. He took his first step into society at Lucky-Goldstar Trading and spent 38 years at LG, making him an ‘LG man.’

He was known as LG Group’s ‘finance expert.’ He once served as Senior Executive Director of the Financial Improvement Team at LG’s Restructuring Headquarters. During his tenure as CNS CEO, he is credited with leading structural improvements by extensively reorganizing subsidiaries and restructuring the company. He also has ties to the telecommunications industry, having briefly served as CFO of LG Uplus. No competitor company executives from LG Uplus or SK Telecom have ever become KT CEO before. Being a traditional LG man is seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage.

‘Authentic KT Man’ Park Yoon-young

Park Yoon-young, former president of KT

Born in 1962, former KT President Park Yoon-young graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Civil Engineering and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from the same university. He is an authentic ‘KT man.’ Since joining Korea Telecom, KT’s predecessor, in 1992, he has held positions such as Head of Future Business Development and Head of Corporate Business Consulting. In 2019, he competed fiercely with former CEO Ku Hyun-mo until the final stages of the CEO appointment.

An engineer by training, he is recognized as a B2B (business-to-business) expert. As head of KT’s Enterprise Division, he oversaw the integration of the Corporate Business Division and Global Business Division, serving as multiple presidents and leading new businesses such as big data and cloud services. He was known for his gentle leadership and strong trust within the company during his tenure at KT. Naturally, he is the candidate who understands KT best. However, the government and ruling party criticized former CEOs Ku Hyun-mo and Yoon Kyung-rim as an ‘internal cartel’ during the previous selection process. By the same logic, Park could also face attacks. In other words, being an authentic KT man might actually be a disadvantage for Park.

World-renowned AI Expert Cha Sang-gyun

Director Sangkyun Cha of the Graduate School of Data Science at Seoul National University is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 9th. / Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

Born in 1958, Seoul National University Professor Cha Sang-gyun was born in Busan. He graduated from Gyeongbuk Provincial Daegu High School and Seoul National University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He earned a master’s degree in Control and Instrumentation Engineering from the same university and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in the United States. He served as the inaugural director of Seoul National University’s Big Data Institute and the Graduate School of Data Science, and currently holds a special professorship at the Graduate School of Data Science.

He is an authority in AI (artificial intelligence) and big data. He was the recipient of the Samsung Ho-Am Prize in Engineering last year. He is recognized as a global expert who developed HANA, the world’s first in-memory database platform, pioneering the era of large-capacity memory-based server systems. These achievements were made during his time at the venture company ‘TIM,’ which he founded in 2002. HANA is currently used by global companies such as Google, Amazon, Meta, Intel, and HP. He also has experience serving as an outside director at KT for seven years, which is seen as giving him a high level of understanding of the company. His strength lies in being a technology expert. On the other hand, the lack of any internal or external political experience, which is essential for top executives in large corporations, is seen as a drawback.

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