KT's board of directors will convene a meeting and begin the process to appoint a chief executive officer (CEO). At the meeting, KT CEO Kim Young-shub is also expected to clarify his position on his future. Kim has said in response to questions, mainly from the ruling party, about whether he will resign over the unauthorized micro-payment incident that it is "only right to take responsibility." The board will also decide that day whether to offer free SIM card replacements to all customers in connection with the unauthorized micro-payment incident.
KT's board plans to hold a meeting on the 4th to approve a proposal to push ahead with selecting the next CEO. Under KT's articles of association, candidates for CEO from inside and outside the company must be formed at least three months before the CEO's term ends. Kim's term runs until the regular shareholders meeting in March next year.
The selection of KT's CEO is led by the CEO candidate recommendation committee, which is composed of eight outside directors. Inside directors do not take part in the committee. After forming a pool of internal and external candidates, the committee conducts document screening and interviews and recommends one final candidate. If the candidate is finalized before the notice of the regular shareholders meeting, the final appointment is made through a resolution at the shareholders meeting. For internal candidates, the conditions include at least two years of service at the company or its affiliates, a position of executive vice president or higher, management expertise, and an understanding of KT's business. After that, approval requires at least three-fifths of the voting rights of shareholders present at the shareholders meeting and the support of at least one-fourth of the total number of issued shares.
Even if Kim seeks another term, he must compete under the same conditions as other applicants. That is because KT abolished the "priority review system for CEO reappointment" in 2023.
Attention is on what position Kim will take regarding his future. At a National Assembly audit, when asked whether he would apply to be the next KT president, Kim said it is "only right to take responsibility" for the incident. At the comprehensive audit of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on the 29th of last month, when Chairperson Choi Min-hee asked, "Will you apply (for the process to select the next KT CEO)?" Kim said, "As I said before, because the CEO bears overall responsibility for management and various incidents have occurred, I said it is only right to take appropriate responsibility." When Choi asked again, "Will you apply?" Kim said, "It is not appropriate to say here," adding that he would clarify his position at the upcoming board meeting. When Choi later asked, "There are many problems, there have been management failures, and incidents have occurred. Will you take responsibility for that?" he said, "I think it is only right to take responsibility for that."
At the National Assembly audit on the 21st, when Noh Jong-myon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, asked Kim whether it was "appropriate responsibility, including resignation," Kim answered that it was "responsibility that includes (resignation)."
At the meeting, the board also plans to decide on a policy to replace SIM cards for all customers in the wake of the unauthorized micro-payment incident. Since the 21st of last month, KT has been waiving penalties and replacing SIM cards only for customers affected by cyber intrusions. As security concerns spread, the National Assembly raised the need for additional measures, and a review began. At the audit, Kim said, "We are in the final stages of preparing to replace SIM cards for all customers," adding, "We need to secure inventory and make other preparations to prevent inconveniences like last time (when waiting lines grew). If the board approves it, we will implement it."