With the National Pension Service, which holds about 8% equity, voting against, Samsung C&T appointed former Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) Minister Lee Jeong-sik as an outside director.
According to the construction industry on the 20th, Samsung C&T held a regular shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, this morning and made the decision.
Lee, who served as the 9th Minister of the MOEL, is a labor-management expert who previously served as secretary general of the Korea Labor and Employment Service, standing member of the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission, and Policy Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.
Samsung C&T said it "aims to contribute to establishing a safety culture at corporations through board-level reviews of the safety and health management system for preventing serious accidents and through effective advice, and to pursue transparent corporate management by performing the core functions of outside directors—management and oversight of corporate governance."
At the shareholders meeting that day, the National Pension Service voted against appointing the former Minister as an outside director, citing concerns that interests with the company could undermine independence as an outside director. From 2020 to 2022, Lee served as an adviser on labor affairs to Samsung Electronics. As of the end of last year, the National Pension Service held 8.08% equity in Samsung C&T.
On the day, Samsung C&T appointed Kim Min-young, former head of Antengene Korea and formerly of Eli Lilly and Company, as a new outside director, and reappointed YulChon attorney Kim Kyeong-soo, a former chief prosecutor, as an outside director. It also appointed Song Kue-jong, head of the resort division, as a new inside director. In addition, it passed an agenda item approving the directors' compensation limit of 18 billion won, the same level as last year.
Oh Se-chul, president and CEO of Samsung C&T, said, "While continuing solid business operations and thorough risk management in response to domestic and overseas business conditions, we will also secure core capabilities and prepare for the future," adding, "In the construction division, we will expand orders for technology-specialized products such as data centers and airports and create business opportunities in promising future areas such as energy solutions."