South Korean grocery chain Megamart's vice chairman and CEO Shin Dong-ik stepped down from his post only eighteen months after taking the helm at the company in June last year. Shin is the third son of Shin Chun-ho, founder of Korean food giant Nongshim, which owns Megamart.
Megamart appointed former Eastern Wells CEO Son Young-kyu as the new CEO at a board meeting held earlier this month, according to industry insiders on Dec. 11. Shin has resigned after his short tenure, but will remain as an inside director of the company.
Megamart was founded in 1975 by Nongshim when the food giant entered the retail business after acquiring supermarket operator Dongyang Chain. Shin, who is also Megamart's largest shareholder, served as CEO of Megamart from 1994 to 1999.
Shin stepped down from CEO in 1999 when Megamart decided to separate ownership and management. The company maintained this system for 23 years until Shin resumed his position as CEO in June 2022.
During his short tenure, Shin worked on consolidating Megamart's affiliates. Megamart first merged with Hotel Nongshim in December last year and then merged with pharmaceutical distribution company Namshin Theranex in February this year.
Industry insiders have speculated that Megamart's restructuring effort is aimed at eventually spinning off the company from Nongshim.
"Vice chairman Shin led the restructuring of the business, which was difficult to accomplish under the CEO system," said a Megamart representative. As for the possibility of a spin-off, the representative said that "there have been no discussions regarding separating the company from Nogshim."
This article was originally published on Dec. 11, 2023.