Shinsegae Group carried out its regular 2026 executive reshuffle on the 26th. Coming one month earlier than last year, this is the first personnel move since the push for a spinoff and the first since Chair Jeong Yu-kyung's promotion, giving it added symbolism.
Shinsegae Group is pursuing a spinoff under independent management, with siblings Jeong Yong-jin and Jeong Yu-kyung respectively overseeing large-scale retail centered on Emart and premium retail centered on Shinsegae Department Store.
Shinsegae Group's personnel principle is reward and punishment according to merit (信賞必罰). In this reshuffle, the two heads each elevated leaders who delivered results and replaced the heads of underperforming units. At the same time, they strengthened finance and legal pillars across the organization to enhance control. The group said it moved up the schedule to swiftly execute pressing tasks in a rapidly changing business environment and to get ahead on future growth plans.
◇ Two promoted to president, heads replaced at eight companies… performance-based approach alongside a generational shift
Two people were promoted to president in this reshuffle. Park Ju-hyeong, head of Shinsegae Department Store, was promoted to president and will also serve as head of Shinsegae Central. Park was recognized for leading department store content innovation, symbolized by the openings of House of Shinsegae and Sweet Park.
Moon Seong-uk, who is also Chair Jeong Yu-kyung's husband and head of Cignight, was promoted to president and will concurrently serve as head of Shinsegae Live Shopping. Moon also serves as head of Shinsegae Tomboy.
Units with lackluster performance underwent restructuring-focused appointments. Gmarket, ahead of becoming a joint venture subsidiary with Alibaba International, named e-commerce expert James Jang (Jang Seung-hwan) as the new head. Born in 1985, he will leverage his experience overseeing Alibaba's Southeast Asian platform Lazada to drive a turnaround through sellers' global expansion and stronger artificial intelligence capabilities.
For SSG.com, another pillar of Shinsegae's e-commerce, Choi Taek-won, who served as Emart's head of sales, was appointed to further integrate supply chains with Emart and maximize competitiveness in fresh food.
Shinsegae International, which handles beauty and fashion, named Kim Deok-ju, head of the overseas fashion division, as the new head to drive a return to normal performance. The cosmetics segment was staffed with younger talent across the board. Seo Min-seong, born in 1980, was tapped to lead Cosmetics Division 1, and Lee Seung-min, born in 1985, was tapped to lead Cosmetics Division 2. Lee is the group's first female chief executive officer (CEO) and joined the group as head of the cosmetics brand Amuse, which Shinsegae International acquired last year, and now oversees cosmetics businesses such as Vidivici.
Shinsegae Food appointed Im Hyeong-seop, who oversees B2B (business-to-business), as head to accelerate its transition into a B2B food specialist company, while Josun Hotels and Resorts installed former SSG.com head Choi Hoon-hak as its new chief to improve profitability in leisure and hotels. Shinsegae DF (duty-free) named Lee Seok-gu, who previously headed Josun Hotel and Starbucks, as head to tackle pending issues such as Incheon Airport rent and to seek a breakthrough in the duty-free business.
The generational shift is clear. Of the 32 newly appointed executives, 14 are in their 40s, accounting for 44%, and the share of executives in their 40s across the group nearly doubled to 16%. The placement of leaders born in the 1980s at the forefront and the emergence of the first female CEO shows a commitment to performance-centered talent management and a stronger leadership pipeline.
◇ Headquarters tightens control, field organizations become more segmented
The reshuffle was accompanied by organizational changes across all affiliates. The core is to strengthen finance and legal functions at headquarters to balance investment and control, while further segmenting frontline functions such as sales.
Shinsegae Central and Shinsegae Live Shopping established new support divisions, and a finance management unit was newly placed under the department store division's planning and strategy office. The group's control tower, the corporate strategy office, reinforced its legal team to strengthen contract and regulatory responses and governance management.
Emart aligned its structure into four business divisions—Emart, Traders, Everyday, and No Brand—and further segmented its sales organization. It also created a store operations unit within Traders and elevated SCM (supply chain management) and compliance to report directly to the head, improving responsiveness in inventory and regulatory matters.
SSG.com streamlined its sales organization and renamed its ESG (environment, social responsibility, governance) unit as customer service to put customer touchpoints and conversion metrics front and center. Shinsegae I&C was realigned into Platform Biz and Cloud Biz and created an SM headquarters to lay the groundwork for turning IT (information technology) from an expense into a revenue business.
Shinsegae DF introduced a dual structure with heads of MD (merchandising) and sales/marketing, and transferred the main store and Incheon Airport store to report directly to the head to speed up decision-making. Shinsegae Co., Ltd. created a New Biz TF reporting directly to the head and converted its factory unit into a New Retail unit to closely manage new-business execution.
Shinsegae Property elevated its Hwaseong division to strengthen its development pillar, and Josun Hotels and Resorts was reorganized around its leisure division. Shinsegae Food decentralized marketing functions to its business divisions to enhance autonomy and speed in the field.
A distribution industry source said, "With the owner duo's division of roles now clearer, the tasks are clear. When the profitability of e-commerce, growth at key offline stores, and the headquarters finance organization's risk management capabilities work in tandem, the intent of this reshuffle will translate into results."