The fifth generation heirs of the Doosan Group's founder are attending management classes while switching between domestic and foreign holding companies and affiliates. After graduating from university, the two peers, Park Sang-soo and Park Sang-woo, who were born in 1994, are evaluated as gradually expanding their influence since joining the group around the same time.
Park Sang-soo, the eldest son of Park Jung-won, chairman of Doosan Group, recently transferred from Doosan Corporation to Doosan Bobcat. Having worked for more than a year in the CSO new industry strategy team at Doosan Corporation since September 2023, Park Sang-soo is currently working in the CSO global business strategy team at Doosan Bobcat. With this transfer, he is commuting to the Bundang office instead of the headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Park Sang-woo, the eldest son of Park Ji-won, vice chairman of Doosan Group and chairman of Doosan Enerbility, has come to the holding company after Park Sang-soo's departure. Park Sang-woo has been working as a manager at the U.S. subsidiary of Doosan Fuel Cell, High Exium. Following his appointment to the holding company, he has returned to Korea from Connecticut and is currently commuting to the headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Compared to the two sons of former Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-man (Park Seo-won, former CEO of Doosan Magazine, and Park Jae-won, former executive director of Doosan Heavy Industries), Park Sang-soo and Park Sang-woo are noted for receiving systematic management training and drawing the blueprint for succession. The recent restructuring of job titles within the company in 2023, which unified the ranks of department heads, vice directors, and directors general into the title of 'senior,' has also resulted in reduced visibility for them both inside and outside the company.
In the case of former chairman Park Yong-man, his term in office from 2012 to 2016 was not easy, which led to his two sons hastening their promotions before gaining sufficient internal experience. Park Jae-won joined the company at the end of 2013 and was promoted to manager less than a year later after serving as an assistant manager and department head. Park Seo-won, the former CEO, worked at the Doosan-affiliated advertising company ORICOM in 2014 before joining the group as an executive.
Park Sang-soo and Park Sang-woo are evaluated as being relatively relaxed in understanding the company situation, given the solid presence of chairperson Park Jung-won and vice chairperson Park Ji-won, as well as their steady accumulation of experience externally. The term of chairperson Park Jung-won as the board chairman extends until 2027, marking 11 years since he assumed the role in 2016. He is the longest-serving chairman leading the group since the 'brother management' of Doosan was initiated in 1996.
Park Sang-soo graduated from Cornell University with a degree in hotel management and returned to Korea after spending time in the U.S., where he worked for about three years as a semiconductor analyst at Korea Investment & Securities before joining the group. Park Sang-woo, who graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in political science, worked for about three years at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a consultant before moving to the position of manager at High Exium.
Unlike Park Sang-woo, who primarily lived in the U.S. before joining the holding company, Park Sang-soo is known to have already attracted attention in Korea as a chaebol heir before joining the group, having spent most of his time in Seoul. While working at Doosan Corporation’s Jung-gu headquarters, he led a quiet life where few recognized him, but among employees, he is often described as meticulous in his appearance and self-management and being respectful.