LG H&H held an extraordinary shareholders meeting and a board meeting on the 10th and appointed President Lee Seon-ju, 55, as the new CEO. Former CEO Lee Jung-ae resigned and disposed of all 1,500 treasury shares she held.
Lee began in public relations and corporate communications at L'Oréal Korea, grew Kiehl's Korea into the No. 2 country by global sales, and went on to serve as senior executive vice president of international business development at headquarters. She also served as head of the global strategy division at L&P Cosmetic and as CEO of Carver Korea, a subsidiary of Unilever, handling the overseas expansion of MEDIHEAL and AHC. Last year, she also became CEO of Terarosa Coffee.
This is the first time in 20 years that LG H&H has tapped an outside professional manager as CEO since recruiting former Vice Chairman Cha Suk-yong in 2005. In the industry, there is analysis that LG H&H is seeking to refresh the mood through a "one-point personnel" move. Recently, LG H&H's results have been on a downward path.
Meanwhile, in a report on changes to the largest shareholder submitted that day, LG H&H said former CEO Lee Jung-ae sold all 1,500 common shares of LG H&H she held. The amount is valued at 433 million won. Earlier, to signal her commitment to improving performance and accountable management, she had purchased 1,500 treasury shares over two years in 2023 and 2024.