KT's next chief executive officer (CEO) shortlist has been narrowed to three. The three candidates (in Korean alphabetical order) are former KT President Park Yun-young, former presidential office economic adviser Joo Hyung-chul (former SKcomms CEO), and former SK shieldus President Hong Won-pyo.
KT's CEO candidate recommendation committee said on the 9th that it narrowed the candidate pool by conducting document screenings and remote interviews of internal and external CEO candidates received through on the 16th of last month, and, after a comprehensive review of the submitted documents and evaluations by a selection advisory panel made up of outside experts and in-depth discussions, it finalized three candidates for in-depth interviews. The committee did not disclose the date of the in-depth interviews, but inside and outside KT many expect them to take place on the 16th.
In accordance with the bylaws' qualifications for CEO candidates, the committee conducted document screenings and remote interviews on the day, using criteria such as △ expertise in corporate management △ industry expertise △ leadership △ communication skills. The seven who made the KT CEO interview list on the day were △ former KT Skylife President Kim Cheol-soo △ Kim Tae-ho, former Seoul Metro president △ former KT CS President Nam Gyu-taek △ former KT head of the corporations business unit Park Yun-young (president) △ KT head of the customer division Lee Hyun-seok △ former presidential office economic adviser Joo Hyung-chul △ former SK shieldus President Hong Won-pyo.
Former KT head of the corporations business unit Park Yun-young, born in 1962, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in civil engineering and earned master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering. Park joined in 1992 as a network technology researcher when KT was Korea Telecom, moved to SK, and later returned to KT. Park went on to serve as head of future business development at KT's Convergence Technology Institute, head of the corporate business consulting division, and head of the corporate business division (president). During this period, Park handled convergence and future businesses and corporate business, and is credited with boosting B2B (business-to-business) transaction performance. Park also has extensive experience participating in overseas projects. In late 2019, during the process to select a new CEO to succeed former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, Park emerged as the strongest rival to former CEO Koo Hyun-mo, but after Koo became the final CEO, they maintained a "two-top system" until Park left KT in Dec. 2020. Park is strong in B2B, suggesting strengths in commercializing AI, but does not have direct experience in B2C (business-to-consumer). There is also a gap of about five years since leaving the company.
Former presidential office economic adviser Joo Hyung-chul is the only finalist from outside KT. Born in 1965, Joo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in computer engineering and later earned an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. Joo joined SK Group in 1989 and worked as an expert in telecommunications and information and communications technology (ICT). From 2004 to 2005, Joo oversaw ubiquity at SK Telecom, then served as head of planning at SK C&C and head of global business before becoming CEO of SK Communications (SKcomms) in 2008, helping boost Cyworld users. However, in 2011 a Cyworld-Nate hacking incident leaked the data of about 35 million people, and Joo left the company. This has sparked controversy over whether someone who stepped down over a hacking scandal should lead KT, which must resolve cyber incidents. Joo is also regarded as someone with a high understanding of policy as well as technology. During the Moon Jae-in administration, Joo served as economic adviser (Vice Minister level) in the presidential secretariat. Joo also served as a Commissioner of the Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and as Chairperson of the Social System Innovation Committee, and chaired the Special Committee on the New Southern Policy. In addition, Joo served as head of the Gyeonggi Research Institute and deputy head of policy at the Lee Jae-myung campaign. However, given the calls for political neutrality at KT, the perception that Joo is aligned with the ruling bloc is a burden.
Former SK shieldus President Hong Won-pyo, born in 1960, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in electronic engineering and earned master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan in the United States. An expert in telecommunications and IT, Hong began a career at Bell Labs in the United States, then joined KT as a principal researcher and rose to executive director, gaining experience in the mobile business at KT. In 2007, Hong joined Samsung Electronics, serving as vice president of global product strategy in the mobile division and head of the Media Solution Center, then became chief marketing officer (CMO) of Samsung SDS before serving as CEO and president, leading AI- and cloud-based platform businesses and digital transformation (DX). After serving as an adviser in 2021, Hong became a distinguished professor at Korea University in 2022, and in 2023 served as CEO and vice chairperson of SK shieldus, pushing a transition to a converged security model that spans physical and information security. Regarded as a "full-stack" manager with experience across the entire ICT spectrum—from telecommunications R&D to mobile, platforms, AI, cloud, and security—Hong has been rated strong in security leadership and in restoring internal and external trust during the KT CEO selection process. However, given that it has been nearly 20 years since leaving KT, how quickly Hong can adapt to the changed organizational culture and internal ecosystem remains a task ahead. There is also controversy over Hong stepping down as SK shieldus vice chairperson shortly after the SK Telecom hacking incident. Hong said the resignation was for personal reasons unrelated to the hacking, but because SK shieldus provides SK Telecom with security monitoring and various information security services, it is difficult to avoid some responsibility.
Earlier, the KT CEO candidate recommendation committee said that, as a result of the open call for CEO candidates conducted from the 4th to the 16th of last month, a total of 33 candidates, including internal candidates and those recommended by professional institutions, formed the CEO candidate pool. Then, through the selection advisory panel on the 21st of last month, the committee narrowed the list to 16. On the 2nd, it further cut the 16 to seven.
Kim Yong-heon, chairperson of the KT CEO candidate recommendation committee, said, "We are deeply grateful to everyone who took part in the CEO candidate process," adding, "We will conduct in-depth interviews with the three candidates and select one final CEO candidate within the year," and, "The selected candidate will be officially appointed as KT's CEO through the next general shareholders' meeting."
However, an industry official said, "After the final candidate is selected, we still need to watch whether the candidate can clear the general shareholders' meeting hurdle."