Amid the burden of legal risk sparked by omitted affiliate disclosures, the owner family of Youngone Group, a corporations specializing in textile and fashion manufacturing and exports, has steadily continued on-site management. Chairman Sung Kihak of Youngone Group and his daughter, Vice Chairman Sung Rae Eun, are taking the lead in management while overseeing business sites at home and abroad.
According to related industry officials on the 8th, Sung recently attended a vendor event in Vietnam hosted by VF Corporation, the parent company of the outdoor brand The North Face. The North Face is a key partner of Youngone Group, and the two sides have a license agreement through 2029. Vietnam, along with Bangladesh and India, is a production base for Youngone Group.
In March, prosecutors summarily indicted Sung, who is accused of attempting to avoid designation as a publicly disclosed business group (large business group), and sought a fine of 100 million won. A summary indictment is a procedure in which, for relatively minor cases, prosecutors petition the court to impose a fine or fines through a paper review instead of a formal trial.
If the court later finds a summary order inappropriate, or if a party objects, the case can proceed to a formal trial. Internally, Youngone Group has begun overhauling systems to prevent a recurrence and, without additional legal action or a change in stance, is waiting for the court's decision.
Earlier, in Feb. this year, the Korea Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint with prosecutors alleging that from 2021 to 2023 Sung omitted 82 affiliates owned by himself and relatives when submitting materials required for designation as a large business group. Both the duration and scale of the omissions are the largest among cases in which the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has detected false submissions.
Sung is said to have reviewed business conditions with clients and interacted with industry officials in Vietnam. Sung then attended the "Telangana Textile Dialogue" in Telangana state in southern India to receive the Global Textile Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award. Youngone completed a plant in Telangana in 2023 and has been producing products there since last year.
Youngone Group has wrapped up succession centered on second daughter and Vice Chairman Sung Rae Eun and stabilized a second-generation structure, but major decision-making is still led by founder Sung. Sung still serves as CEO of core affiliates such as Youngone Outdoor and Youngone.
Vice Chairman Sung is also widening her on-site management footprint. While reviewing major brands and distribution channels, she is directly overseeing global operations and, as head of the Korea Fashion Industry Association, is involved in government-led projects. Sung was appointed in 2024 as the first female leader and the youngest association head, entering the third year of her term this year.
At the end of Mar., Vice Chairman Sung visited the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) fashion show hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to listen to difficulties faced by domestic designers and discuss support measures. Last month, she attended the "K-Materials Matching Day" to review the foundation for building a cooperative ecosystem between brands and materials corporations.
Meanwhile, Youngone Group's total assets decreased to less than 5 trillion won this year, resulting in its removal from the large business group list after one year. The outcome reflects overlapping affiliate consolidation and asset revaluation. Last year, Youngone Holdings posted sales of 4.895 trillion won, up 13.7% from a year earlier, and operating profit of 735.5 billion won, up 42.2%.
Attending Youngone Holdings' regular shareholders meeting, Vice Chairman Sung said, "Despite a challenging business environment last year, we proved solid fundamentals," and added, "This year, we will take the lead in materially enhancing shareholder value through responsible management, strengthening our compliance framework, and securing growth drivers through investment."