Chung Yong-jin Tapped to Become Emart CEO; Shinsegae Group Launches Sweeping Personnel Overhaul

[Financial News] Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin (Photo) has been tapped to become CEO of Emart. His return comes 13 years after he stepped down as a registered director of Emart in 2013.
On the 23rd, Shinsegae Group announced its 2027 regular executive appointments, which included the planned appointment of Chung as CEO of Emart. After taking office as CEO of Shinsegae Property Inc. last June, he will now also directly oversee Emart’s management.
Chung is expected to officially take office as Emart CEO following a shareholders’ meeting. He will accordingly form separate co-CEO arrangements with the incoming head of Emart and with Lee Hyeong-cheon, CEO of Shinsegae Property Inc., respectively. Chung plans to work closely with the two CEOs to strengthen the core-business competitiveness of key affiliates and flesh out the group’s medium- and long-term growth strategy and vision.
Kim Hong-geuk, CEO of Shinsegae Casa, has been tapped to become Emart’s new CEO. He will also serve as CEO of SSG.com. Choi Taek-won, CEO of SSG.com, was named head of management support at the Management Strategy Office, which oversees the group’s personnel and audit functions. Park Seung-hak, head of the Leisure Business Division at Josun Hotels & Resorts, was named head of the External Relations Division, which handles public relations and government relations. Executive Vice President Jeon Sang-jin, who oversees management at the Management Strategy Office, will remain in his post.
Heo Min-ho, former CEO of CJ Olive Young Corporation, has been tapped to become CEO of Shinsegae Casa. He will also head the cosmetics division of Shinsegae International Inc. Kim Duk-joo, the current head of Shinsegae International’s fashion division, will remain in charge of it, while Ki In-ju, CEO of SMPMC, has been tapped to lead Shinsegae Baseball Club.
The appointments also accelerated generational change, with a large number of younger talent selected for promotion. Shinsegae Group promoted 36 people to new executive positions, the largest number in its history. In particular, the group actively promoted executives in their 40s, bringing their share of all group executives to a record 18%. The group said it sought both organizational stability and renewal by retaining the heads of major affiliates that had delivered results while placing younger executives in key positions.
Starting with this regular round of appointments, Shinsegae Group plans to continue making appointments as needed as part of its organizational overhaul. Its aim is to strengthen the organization’s ability to execute by selecting talent based on job capability and performance and assigning people to positions where they can best contribute.
A Shinsegae Group official said, “Chairman Chung has decided to personally exercise leadership and lead the group’s transformation amid the major industrial shift centered on artificial intelligence,” and added, “Through performance-based talent selection, the group will maximize its competitiveness in its core businesses and deliver results in future growth businesses.”

[email protected] Jang Yu-ha Reporter