Hojeong Seo, the second daughter of AmorePacific Group Chairman Kyungbae Seo, has reportedly joined the group's subsidiary, Osulloc, as a new employee. Since Minjung Seo, the eldest daughter and previously considered the leading successor, has been on an extended leave of absence since July 2023, some analysts suggest that the succession focus may now be shifting toward Hojeong Seo.

From the left, eldest daughter Minjung Seo, second daughter Hojeong Seo. Courtesy of AmorePacific.

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According to the cosmetics industry on July 3, Hojeong Seo began working as a new employee in the Product Development (PD) team at Osulloc as of July 1. An AmorePacific Group representative explained, "She will be gaining work experience by handling product development and marketing in the team."

Born in 1995, Hojeong Seo graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in the United States in 2018. It is understood that she did not seek employment elsewhere after graduation. She also did not participate in management activities within AmorePacific Group.

Industry observers believe that with Hojeong Seo officially joining the group, Chairman Seo may be preparing to entrust the next phase of management to his second daughter. Previously, the industry expected Minjung Seo to succeed Chairman Kyungbae Seo, but it is now understood that she has not been actively involved in company operations recently.

A woman on long-term leave from the company. Video using OpenAI Sora.

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Minjung Seo, the eldest daughter and head of the AP team in the AmorePacific Luxury Brand Division, has been on an additional leave of absence since July last year. On July 1, 2023, Minjung Seo took a one-year personal leave of absence for private reasons.

The company stated, "We cannot confirm the duration or reason for her leave, but it is true that she has taken additional leave."

Minjung Seo was considered the top candidate to lead AmorePacific Group and received management training at the company before her leave. Born in 1991, she joined AmorePacific in January 2017, resigned once in June of the same year, and then enrolled in Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) in China to study global business strategy theory and related subjects.

Currently, the shareholding structure of AmorePacific Group is as follows: Chairman Seo holds 48.66%, Minjung Seo holds 2.75%, and Hojeong Seo holds 2.55%. The difference in shareholding between Minjung Seo and Hojeong Seo is only 0.2 percentage points.