It was confirmed on the 2nd that Woo Gi-won, 33, the youngest son of SM Group Chairman Woo Oh-hyun, resigned as CEO of SM High Plus. Woo, the former CEO, stepped down last year as vice president of Korea Line Corporation and head of SM Group's shipping division, and also resigned as CEO of his private company Najin.
Inside and outside SM Group, there are projections that the timing of the group's succession may have been delayed as the chairman's children, including former CEO Woo Gi-won, have stepped down one after another from CEO posts at major affiliates. However, since the former CEO and the chairman share equity in the group's core affiliates, the succession framework centered on the former CEO remains unchanged.
According to the business community that day, the former CEO resigned as CEO of SM High Plus in early last month. Considering that the CEO term at SM High Plus is two years, Woo, who was appointed in Jan. last year, was replaced with time left on the term. The former CEO also resigned from the company's inside director post.
SM High Plus operates the highway Hi-Pass service and is one of SM Group's valuable affiliates. It posted sales of 332.5 billion won last year with an operating loss of 173.7 billion won, but that was due to a temporary loss reflecting a 225.8 billion won loss on disposal of investments in associates from the investment business institutional sector. The card and construction businesses generated 25.6 billion won in operating profit. The previous year's sales were 269.9 billion won with 34.2 billion won in operating profit.
An SM Group official said there was "nothing to confirm" about the background of the former CEO's resignation, adding that "the resignation occurred before the regular executive reshuffle, so it was not due to the regular reshuffle." Woo also resigned from Korea Line Corporation, which he joined in Nov. 2022, after 2 years and 4 months, unrelated to the regular reshuffle.
With this personnel move, the former CEO will participate in management only as an inside director at group affiliates. Woo is registered as an inside director at Samla Midas, an unlisted de facto holding company of SM Group, as well as at Korea Merchant Navy, Sinchonyeoksa, and SM Line. He is listed as a non-executive director at Ulsan Broadcasting.
Although the former CEO still participates in management through the boards of major affiliates, this is a marked change from when he was cited as the "top-priority successor" while holding key posts in the group. In the business community, as Chairman Woo, born in 1953, enters his mid-70s, there had been expectations that succession centered on the former CEO would accelerate.
However, as the chairman's children who held CEO posts at major affiliates have been stepping down one after another, and as the group is focusing its capabilities on reviving STX Construction, which was acquired under the chairman's lead, some analyze that the pace of succession may have slowed.
The chairman's second daughter, Woo Ji-young, stepped down from the CEO posts at SM Holdings and Taecho E&C (HNE&C) during this year's mergers and acquisitions process. Former CEO Woo Ji-young is also participating in management as an inside director at HNE&C and Hans Intech. The eldest and third daughters, Yeon-a and Myeong-a, also serve as inside directors at Samhwan Enterprise and Samra Farm, among others.
A business community source said, "Unlike outside perceptions, it is natural for group succession to change continually depending on the chairman's intent," adding, "The children's management training will also be carried out based on the chairman's leading judgment, and there will inevitably be various moves in the process." The source added, "Since former CEO Woo Gi-won is Chairman Woo's only son and the equity structure is already shaped to some extent, it appears highly likely that succession will proceed as is."
In fact, looking at the equity structure for succession, it remains centered on former CEO Woo Gi-won. The former CEO holds a 26% equity stake in Samla Midas, the de facto holding company. Samla Midas is a core succession affiliate that holds equity in numerous key group affiliates, including STX Construction, SM Bexel, SM Line, SM Hwajin, Woobang, Kukil Paper, and Dong-A Construction Industry. The remaining 74% equity is held by the chairman.
Meanwhile, SM High Plus appointed Ahn Byung-hyun, head of the card business division (senior managing director), as the new CEO. Ahn, the new CEO, previously worked at Lotte Card, served as head of the MyData TF team at Lotte Members, and was chief strategy officer (CSO) at Vanilla Studio before being recruited to SM High Plus last year.