In the past, most corporations in Korea moved on the strong leadership and decisiveness of their founders. Samsung led by Lee Byung-chul and Hyundai led by Chung Ju-yung are representative examples. But as they now vie for the top spot in the global market, these corporations have grown so large that it is difficult for the leader alone to be responsible for management. The role of the so-called "keyman," who manages each field closest to the leader and plays a pivotal part in final decision-making for the future, has grown in importance. We introduce the keymen of major corporations that drive Korea's economy and examine the roles and tasks given to them. [Editor's note]
On Jan. 16 at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, a "Korea-U.S. tariff negotiation follow-up public-private joint meeting" was held with President Lee Jae-myung and the heads of major groups in attendance. Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group, gathered. One particularly unfamiliar figure to the public also attended, drawing attention. It was Vice Chairman Yeo Seung-joo (head of Hanwha management support office), representing Hanwha Group.
In recent years, at major business community events, Kim Dong-Kwan, vice chairman and the eldest son of Chairman Kim Seung-youn, has mostly represented Hanwha Group. On this day, he was said to have been absent due to business-related commitments. In the business community, the view emerged that this showed Vice Chairman Yeo is effectively the most powerful figure in the group aside from the owner family.
Vice Chairman Yeo is a "traditional Hanwha man" who has dug one well at Hanwha Group for more than 40 years. As Hanwha Group grew into a global corporation spanning defense, energy, shipbuilding and finance under Chairman Kim Seung-youn after the death of founder Kim Chong-Hee, he played the role of a "household manager" in finance and planning and proved his management ability by serving as CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance.
Some in the business community say Yeo's career resembles that of former Vice Chairman Lee Hak-su, who was considered the No. 2 at Samsung under the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Lee also handled Samsung's internal management for a long time with Lee Kun-hee's deep trust and served as CEO at Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. He also worked as head of the restructuring office and head of the strategy planning office, laying the groundwork for Samsung's growth into a global corporation.
Former Vice Chairman Lee was the key figure who planned and executed the transfer of management control from Chairman Lee Kun-hee to Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Vice Chairman Yeo likewise is tasked with taking the lead in the succession process for Chairman Kim Seung-youn's three sons: Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan, President Kim Dong-Won of Hanwha Life Insurance, and Vice President Kim Dong-Sun of Hanwha Galleria.
◇ Hanwha family's three brothers focus on "standing on their own"… Vice Chairman Yeo oversees internal management
On June 20 last year, through a "one-point personnel reshuffle," Hanwha Group appointed Vice Chairman Yeo, then CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance, as head of management support at Hanwha Corp. The management support office at Hanwha Corp. serves as a practical control tower that sets the group's overall management strategy and manages pending issues at each affiliate.
Hanwha Group's group of vice chairmen currently consists of four people. In addition to Vice Chairman Yeo Seung-joo and Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan are Vice Chairman Kim Chang-bum (advisor), former head of Hanwha Corp.'s management support office, and Vice Chairman Kwon Hyuk-woong, CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance. Considering that Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan is from the owner family, Yeo is the only professional manager among the vice chairmen who is overseeing overall group management.
Recently, Chairman Kim Seung-youn's three sons have been devoted to producing results in their respective businesses. Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan, as CEO of Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Solutions, is leading the defense, energy and shipbuilding businesses. Second son Kim Dong-Won, president of Hanwha Life Insurance, is in charge of the financial sector, and third son Vice President Kim Dong-Sun is leading distribution and machinery/robotics businesses.
The management activities of the vice chairman, the president, and the vice president are mainly focused on achieving visible results such as orders in the global market, entry into new businesses, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Before "standing on their own," they seek to be recognized by Chairman Kim Seung-youn, the group leadership, the business community, and the financial investment market as figures capable of inheriting management control.
While they deliver results on the front lines, Vice Chairman Yeo is tasked with overseeing the group's overall internal management and stably managing each affiliate.
◇ A Hanwha veteran of 41 years and a representative finance expert… "Kim Seung-youn's confidant" succeeding Kum Chun-soo
Vice Chairman Yeo took his first step into working life in 1985 when he joined Kyungin Energy, then an affiliate of Hanwha, after graduating from Sogang University with a degree in mathematics. True to his mathematics background, he earned recognition for his keen sense with numbers and built his career over a long period in the finance department.
Yeo began to stand out as a finance expert during the foreign exchange crisis in 1997, when Hanwha Group experienced management difficulties. To overcome the crisis, Hanwha abolished the chairman's office and established a restructuring committee, which was later expanded into the restructuring headquarters. As a key member of this organization, he led the hands-on work of rigorous cost-cutting, business mix adjustments, and affiliate reorganization.
Hanwha Group's debt ratio, which was in the 400% range in 1997, fell below 200% by 2001. The total borrowings, which stood at about 12 trillion won during the foreign exchange crisis, also decreased sharply to the 7 trillion won range. Hanwha Group sold several affiliates, including Hanwha Energy and Hanwha Bearing, which had been in the refining business, and reorganized around defense and petrochemicals.
Having handled the grueling restructuring at the working level, Yeo later proved outstanding skill in M&A and emerged as the group's key brain.
Although Hanwha Group managed to keep Hanwha Securities through restructuring, it remained in a modest position in the financial market. Chairman Kim Seung-youn, who identified finance as the group's next growth engine, poured his efforts into acquiring Daehan Life (now Hanwha Life Insurance) and Shin Dong-A Fire & Marine (now Hanwha General Insurance), which came up for sale after the Shin Dong-A Group was dismantled in 1999. Yeo, then head of finance at the restructuring headquarters, led the practical work for the acquisitions of Daehan Life and Shin Dong-A Fire & Marine in 2002.
The restructuring headquarters, Hanwha Group's overarching control tower, was reorganized into the management planning office in 2006. Yeo's capabilities as head of strategy in the management planning office shone again in 2014, when Hanwha Group acquired defense and chemical business units from Samsung—Samsung Techwin, Samsung Thales, Samsung General Chemicals, and Samsung Total. These companies, which were incorporated into Hanwha affiliates at the time, have since become key units such as Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems, Hanwha Impact, and Hanwha TotalEnergies.
Within Hanwha Group, Yeo is sometimes called "Little Kum Chun-soo." Former Vice Chairman Kum worked side by side with Chairman Kim Seung-youn for many years and, as senior vice chairman, wielded strong practical power as the group's No. 2.
Born in 1953, former Vice Chairman Kum graduated from Seoul National University's economics department and joined Golden Bell Trading, the predecessor of Hanwha Corp., in 1978. He served as support team leader at the restructuring headquarters, then as head of the management planning office (president), worked as vice chairman for eight years from 2016, and stepped down to become an advisor in 2024.
Chairman Kim Seung-youn, born in 1952, took office as chairman of Hanwha Group in 1981 when founder Kim Chong-Hee suddenly passed away. Having started at Hanwha around the same time, with just a one-year age difference, Kum is considered the chairman's most trusted "confidant," having shared ups and downs together for 46 years.
A Hanwha official said, "Vice Chairman Yeo has followed the path that former Vice Chairman Kum walked, almost like a shadow, working in the restructuring headquarters, the management planning office, and Hanwha Life Insurance," adding, "With former Vice Chairman Kum gone, Vice Chairman Yeo now serves as Chairman Kim Seung-youn's new confidant."
◇ "Let's run like nomads"… The "Nomad meetings" that drove Hanwha Life Insurance's growth
"Let's run like nomads."
On Mar. 25, 2019, at the CEO's office at Hanwha Life Insurance headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Six heads of team in charge of headquarters sales, product development, risk management and underwriting gathered there. At the shareholders meeting held that day, Vice Chairman Yeo was appointed CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance. To the heads of team, who had been suddenly called in and were holding their breath waiting for instructions from the new CEO, Yeo made this first proposal.
Yeo had earlier served for about a year from 2016 as CEO of Hanwha Investment & Securities. Within the group, many assessed his appointment as CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance, a core affiliate, after Hanwha Investment & Securities, as "Chairman Kim is continuously testing whether 'finance expert' Yeo Seung-joo can also excel as 'manager' Yeo Seung-joo."
Emphasizing "Break the frame," Yeo launched the "Nomad (NOMAD) meetings" on his first day, just as he proposed becoming nomads. At these meetings, held weekly or biweekly, the CEO and heads of key departments gathered for an "all-out debate" to find ways to drive change and innovation.
Hardened by spearheading painful restructuring and mega M&A deals, Yeo believed that even an insurer, which had been run relatively conservatively, needed to break limits and pursue diverse changes and challenges. Hanwha Life Insurance achieved various results and grew rapidly through the Nomad meetings.
A representative change was shifting from tied agents to a focus on general agencies (GAs). In 2021, Hanwha Life Insurance launched Hanwha Life Financial Services, the industry's first specialized GA, carrying out a "separation of manufacturing and sales." Hanwha Life Financial Services turned profitable within two years of its launch and then expanded by acquiring GA firms such as People Life.
Through the separation of manufacturing and sales, Hanwha Life Insurance achieved multiple results, including expanding its product sales lineup and boosting market share through stronger customer service. In 2024, it recorded a 16.2% market share among life insurers, surpassing Kyobo Life Insurance (12.6%) and rising to No. 2 after Samsung Life Insurance (21.8%). The separation model later spread to Shinhan Life, Tongyang Life Insurance, KB Life, and Heungkuk Life, becoming the standard operating model in the insurance industry.
The Nomad meetings at Hanwha Life Insurance have continued even after Yeo moved to the group, and they are still held biweekly.
A business community official said, "Vice Chairman Yeo has played a major role in the group's growth into a global corporation over more than 40 years at Hanwha and has also proven his management ability at Hanwha Life Insurance," adding, "Beyond a salaryman success story, he has achieved enough to be a strong mentor to Chairman Kim Seung-youn's three sons."
◇ The keyman in charge of Hanwha's succession process… Separation of financial affiliates is the key
However, some say Vice Chairman Yeo's role may be somewhat limited. That is because most of his career has focused on finance/planning, restructuring and M&A, which may constrain him from commanding the entire group. Yeo has no experience leading affiliates in the group's core businesses such as defense, energy or shipbuilding.
Yeo's background contrasts with that of Vice Chairman Kwon Hyuk-woong, who swapped positions with him and now heads Hanwha Life Insurance. Kwon graduated from Hanyang University's chemical engineering department and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He joined Hanwha Energy in 1985 and rose to CEO, served as CEO of Hanwha TotalEnergies, oversaw support at Hanwha Corp., and also served as CEO of Hanwha Ocean. If Yeo is a finance expert, Kwon is essentially a technology expert.
An official at Hanwha Group said, "If Vice Chairman Yeo is a finance expert adept with numbers, Vice Chairman Kwon is a field expert who has handled diverse tasks and experienced the global market at core affiliates such as energy and shipbuilding." He added, "For now, Yeo, as head of the group's management support office, is considered the No. 2, but if Kwon returns to Hanwha Corp. in the future, he may be assessed as more suitable to oversee groupwide management."
For these reasons, many in the business community expect Vice Chairman Yeo to play a primary role in steadily managing the group's internal affairs while directing the succession process for Chairman Kim Seung-youn's three sons.
Independent management by the Hanwha brothers has already set sail. On the 14th of last month, Hanwha Corp. held a board meeting and approved a spin-off plan to establish a new holding company, "Hanwha Machinery & Service Holdings," which will operate businesses such as machinery/robotics and distribution/leisure.
Under the new holding company will be Hanwha Vision, Hanwha Semitec, Hanwha Momentum, Hanwha Robotics, Hanwha Galleria, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, and OURHOME, businesses that Vice President Kim Dong-Sun has led. In effect, among Chairman Kim Seung-youn's three sons—Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan, President Kim Dong-Won, and Vice President Kim Dong-Sun—Vice President Kim is the first to embark on "standing alone."
The remaining task is to decide how Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan and President Kim Dong-Won will divide their respective shares. There is a possibility of a second split in which President Kim Dong-Won carves out the financial sector, including Hanwha Life Insurance, to create "Hanwha Financial Holdings," but many expect it will take considerable time because the financial sector's weight and role in the overall group are far larger than those of the machinery/robotics/distribution sector. Another reason careful advance preparation and work are needed is that different laws apply to the separation of industrial and financial sectors.