Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) is launching the process to recruit its next CEO. Given that it has taken at least two months in the past to finalize a new CEO, the new chief is expected to take office early next year. KHNP's move to begin selecting a new CEO comes a little over two months after former CEO Hwang Ju-ho stepped down in September.
According to the nuclear power industry on the 12th, KHNP is holding a board meeting that day to form the Executive Recommendation Committee. Under KHNP's internal regulations, the committee is composed of outside directors and directors appointed by the board. The committee must have at least five and no more than 12 members. A KHNP official said, "In the past, it was composed of about six to seven members."
The Executive Recommendation Committee interviews candidates for KHNP CEO recruited through an open call. Typically, after three rounds of meetings, it recommends three to five candidates to the Public Institution Steering Committee. If there are unavoidable circumstances, it is also possible to recommend fewer than a threefold number of candidates, that is, fewer than three people.
The Public Institution Steering Committee then narrows the CEO candidates down to one, and KHNP's general meeting of shareholders votes on the nominee. The appointee is then recommended by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment and approved by the president, who holds the appointment authority.
In the past, KHNP's process to appoint a new CEO, from the open call for candidates to appointment, took as little as two months. It took about two months to select former CEO Chung Jae-hoon, who took office in 2018. In 2022, when appointing the previous CEO, Hwang, it took about three months.
Former CEO Hwang, who took office on Aug. 22, 2022, originally had a term until Aug. 21, but as the appointment of a successor was delayed and he continued his duties, he became embroiled in a controversy over an unfair contract between KHNP and Westinghouse and, after pressure from the ruling party to resign, tendered his resignation.
Thus, unlike in the past when the Executive Recommendation Committee was formed while an incumbent CEO was in office, this time the committee is being formed without a CEO.
A nuclear power industry official said, "Usually, the incumbent CEO is involved in forming the Executive Recommendation Committee, but this time the situation is different," adding, "Whether a person advocating 'phasing out nuclear power' becomes CEO is a point of interest."