Three candidates have been shortlisted for KT's next CEO. The contenders are Park Yun-young, former KT president, Joo Hyeong-cheol, former presidential economic adviser, and Hong Won-pyo, former vice chairman of SK shieldus. Inside and outside KT, the first task the next CEO must address is handling this year's "hacking incident." The new chief also faces the challenge of tightening a loosened organizational culture and boosting competitiveness in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Here are the strengths and weaknesses of the three candidates.
◇ "Traditional KT man" Park Yun-young lacks "B2C" business experience
Park Yun-young, former head of KT's corporate division (president), is a traditional KT man who has made four bids for the KT CEO post. Born in 1962, Park graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in civil engineering and earned master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering. He joined Korea Telecom in 1992 as a network technology researcher, moved to SK, and later returned to KT. He went on to serve as head of future business development at KT Convergence Technology Institute and head of corporate business consulting. During this period, he was credited with boosting B2B (business-to-business) business performance while overseeing convergence, future business, and corporate business. He also has extensive overseas business experience. Park competed with former CEO Koo Hyun-mo for the KT CEO post in late 2019. He left KT in Dec. 2020.
Some cite his lack of B2C (business-to-consumer) business experience and a gap in management as reasons he failed despite making it to the final stage for KT CEO three times. The B2C institutional sector still accounts for about 60% of KT's operating revenue. A KT insider said, "KT is pursuing a strategy that spans telecommunications and AI, and having no B2C experience—the basics of the telecom industry—is inevitably a weakness." An industry official said, "Unlike other KT CEO candidates who majored in electronic engineering or computer engineering, Park's civil engineering background is also a weakness."
◇ Joo Hyeong-cheol faced a Cyworld "hacking incident" as SK Communications CEO
Born in 1965, Joo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in computer engineering and later received an MBA from MIT. From 2004 to 2005, he oversaw ubiquitous services at SK Telecom, then served as head of planning at SK C&C and head of global business before becoming CEO of SK Communications (SK Comms) in 2008, where he played a leading role in increasing Cyworld users.
Joo served as an economic adviser (Vice Minister level) to the presidential secretariat under the Moon Jae-in administration. He also served as a Commissioner of the Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and as Chairperson of the Committee on Social System Innovation, and chaired the Special Committee on the New Southern Policy. He additionally served as president of the Gyeonggi Research Institute and as deputy director-general of policy at the Lee Jae-myung campaign. His extensive policy experience is a strength.
However, in 2011, during his tenure as CEO of SK Comms, about 35 million people's information was leaked in the Cyworld and Nate hacks, and he left the company. Hwang Yong-sik, a professor of business administration at Sejong University, said, "Even though KT had a hacking incident that sparked public outrage, appointing someone as the new head who is not unrelated to hacking would trigger a backlash."
◇ Hong Won-pyo brings extensive experience as former Samsung SDS CEO
Hong, the former vice chairman, has broad experience across the entire information and communications technology (ICT) spectrum, from telecommunications research and development (R&D) to mobile, platforms, AI, cloud, and security. Born in 1960, he graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in electronic engineering and earned his master's and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. He began his career at Bell Labs in the United States, then served as managing director and senior managing director at Korea Telecom Freetel (the predecessor to KTF), gaining experience in mobile communications. He joined Samsung Electronics in 2007 as executive vice president of global product strategy for the mobile division and later headed the Media Solution Center.
As CEO of Samsung SDS, Hong was credited with successfully reshaping the company by reducing its reliance on Samsung affiliates, which had been as high as 90%. Before he took the helm in 2017, Samsung SDS's external business ratio was just 11%, but it rose to 17% by 2019. He contributed to increased orders from clients in smart factories, cloud, AI analytics, and enterprise solutions at the time.
However, on Apr. 30 this year, he abruptly tendered his resignation as vice chairman of SK shieldus. At the time, SK shieldus said it was "a personal resignation unrelated to the company," but the industry interpreted it as part of taking responsibility for the SK Telecom hacking incident that occurred three months before his term expired. SK shieldus provides security services across SK Group, including SK Telecom.
Ryu Young-jae, CEO of Sustinvest, said, "The next KT CEO to be appointed this time will see the term expire within the current administration," adding, "Given past precedents, the selection should be made cautiously, taking into account the possibility of a second term." Bang Hyo-chang, policy chairperson at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, said, "From an organizational culture perspective, a candidate who understands KT well will be better positioned to steady a disordered organization."