Hyundai Motor Group's IT services affiliate Hyundai AutoEver has replaced its leader yet again, stirring concerns about unstable leadership. It is the third CEO appointment in about two years. The move contrasts with peers such as LG CNS and Samsung SDS, which guarantee chief executive (CEO) terms or operate under clear mid- to long-term strategies. With frequent changes at the helm causing the company's management strategy to lose consistency and appear to "waver," some say even its core role in the group's shift to SDV (software-defined vehicle), the group's future, is being shaken.
According to the industry on the 1st, Ryu Seok-moon, who was tapped on the 24th as the new CEO of Hyundai AutoEver, is a developer by background who worked at SOCAR and Riot Games. He will take the top post after a rapid promotion just 1 year and 9 months after being recruited in Mar. 2024.
The issue is that former president Kim Yun-goo was abruptly replaced with 1 year and 3 months left before his official term ended in Mar. 2027. Kim, a finance and HR specialist who previously headed Hyundai Motor Group's human resources and audit offices, was brought in to steady the organization after former CEO Seo Jeong-sik resigned midterm amid unsavory allegations. As a result, from the end of 2023 to the end of 2025, Hyundai AutoEver saw its CEO profile shift sharply in a short span of about two years—from strategist (Seo Jeong-sik) to administrator (Kim Yun-goo) to developer (Ryu Seok-moon).
Such frequent leadership turnover inevitably leads to a lack of mid- to long-term vision. Under former CEO Seo Jeong-sik, Hyundai AutoEver focused on aggressive expansion and improved compensation, but under CEO Kim Yun-goo, the company pivoted sharply to "strengthening fundamentals," including internal audits and organizational management within the group. With Ryu, a developer by background, named to lead, the company's keywords have shifted again to "technology quality" and "software (SW) innovation." Industry watchers say high-level transformations like SDV require a long horizon of at least five to 10 years, and that with a CEO change every two years and KPIs (key performance indicators) shifting each time, it is difficult for the working level to stay centered.
This stands in stark contrast to major IT services corporations that are delivering results based on leadership continuity. LG CNS chief Hyun Shin-Gyoon took the top job in late 2022, earned recognition for performance, was promoted to president, and has led the organization steadily for a fourth year. Samsung SDS, too, has smoothly handed off leadership from President Hong Won-pyo to President Hwang Sung-woo and now to President Lee June-hee, steadily pushing ahead with new-business strategies centered on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI).
By contrast, Hyundai AutoEver is seen as having been reduced to an "outlet for resolving personnel bottlenecks" or a "temporary" post that can be replaced at any time based on group needs. In fact, in Kim Yun-goo's case, once he achieved the aims of managing risk tied to his predecessor and tidying up the organization, he was replaced regardless of his remaining term, effectively "discarded after use." The industry interprets the personnel move as largely punitive, reflecting a technology gap.
Hyundai AutoEver has continued its top-line growth, posting 2.9293 trillion won in cumulative sales through the third quarter last year, but a closer look shows it relies heavily on internal transactions with group affiliates for system integration (SI) and IT outsourcing (ITO). Internal transactions account for more than 90%, and over 92% of affiliate deals are "negotiated contracts" awarded without competition.
Cumulative third-quarter sales in the vehicle SW area, directly tied to the group's future, were 198.3 billion won, up just 1.5% from a year earlier. The share of vehicle SW in total sales shrank by 2.8 percentage points (P), from 21.6% in the third quarter of 2024 to 18.8% last year.
In effect, the numbers are a performance party propped up by the group's captive market, while the company is seen as sluggish in securing independent SW technology competitiveness. A Hyundai AutoEver official said, "Even though we are an IT company, operations revolve around support and staff departments, and the development organization handles only miscellaneous tasks without initiative or direction," adding, "let alone big tech, even compared with similar IT services companies, the development environment lags, and we lack mid-level developers."
With Hyundai Motor Group struggling to secure future technologies such as Autonomous Driving, Hyundai AutoEver's leadership also finds itself inevitably shaky. In particular, the latest personnel move, which puts a developer-turned-CEO front and center, suggests Hyundai AutoEver is under pressure to shore up its technology competitiveness. Still, it is unclear how much real authority and discretion an outsider can secure within a group-centered decision-making structure.
An IT services industry official said, "Given that Hyundai AutoEver is sustained essentially by Hyundai Motor volumes, independent survival is not easy," adding, "since it has failed to show clear prowess in areas like Autonomous Driving compared with global corporations such as Tesla, the cycle of swapping out people may be repeating."