Hwang Hyun-sik Appointed New CEO of LG Uplus... Vice Chairman Ha Hyun-hoe Steps Down (Update)

Hwang Hyun-sik, President of Consumer Business Division, appointed as the new CEO of LG Uplus
[Photo by LG Uplus]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] LG Uplus announced on the 25th that it held a board meeting and recommended Hwang Hyun-sik, Head of Consumer Business, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Hwang, appointed as CEO, is scheduled to be officially appointed as representative director after going through the board of directors and general shareholders' meeting procedures next year.

Current Vice Chairman and CEO Ha Hyun-hoe will retire after completing his term. LG Uplus explained, "Vice Chairman Ha judged that 'now is an important time for LG Uplus to prepare for the post-COVID era and to make a greater leap forward through customer experience innovation via digital transformation.'"

Vice Chairman Ha recommended Hwang, who can stably lead the organization and successfully complete digital transformation amid the rapidly changing telecommunications and media market environment, as the new CEO.

Hwang is the first CEO to be appointed who has grown within LG Uplus. He is known to have strong trust both inside and outside the group due to his over 20 years of rich telecommunications business experience and gentle leadership. Earlier that day, he represented LG Uplus at the event "Korean New Deal, Meeting Korea's Artificial Intelligence" held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, attended by President Moon Jae-in.

Hwang joined LG Telecom in 1999 and served as Head of Gangnam Business Division and Head of Sales Strategy, gaining comprehensive experience in business-to-consumer (B2C) sales and sales strategy. After working in LG Corporation's telecommunications service team, he rejoined LG Uplus in 2014 and was recognized for successfully leading LG Uplus's mobile business amid a rapidly changing market environment. Last year, he was the only person promoted to president within the LG Group. Since this year, he has been serving as Head of Consumer Business, integrating mobile, Internet TV (IPTV), and Internet smart home services, leading LG Uplus's wired and wireless business.

An LG Uplus official said, "Now is a time when consumer trends are rapidly changing worldwide, requiring innovation in existing businesses and discovery of future growth engines. Just as LG Uplus built the first nationwide network in the industry when entering the 4G (LTE) era, narrowing the gap with competitors, we appointed telecommunications expert Hwang as CEO to lead change and innovation more actively."

Meanwhile, LG Uplus also conducted executive promotions for 2 vice presidents, 4 executive directors, and 9 managing directors on the same day. Among them, Managing Director Ko Eun-jung, who started as a counselor in the first recruitment batch at LG Telecom Busan Customer Center, became CEO of Ain Tele Service in 2018 and served as CEO of CS One Partner this year, was newly appointed as managing director. LG Uplus stated that she was appointed managing director in recognition of her rich field experience and know-how, which significantly enhanced the capabilities of the customer center.

◇ 2021 LG Uplus Executive Personnel Changes

▲ CEO

President Hwang Hyun-sik, current Head of Consumer Business

▲ Vice President Promotions (2 persons)

Park Hyung-il, current CRO; Hyun Jun-yong, current Head of Home Platform Promotion Team

▲ Executive Director Promotions (4 persons)

Kim Sae-ra, current Head of Marketing Group; Yang Hyo-seok, current CHO; Yeo Myung-hee, current Head of Management Planning; Lee Sang-yeop, current Head of Technology Development Group

▲ New Managing Director Appointments (9 persons)

Ko Eun-jung, current CEO of CS One Partner; Park Su, current Head of Customer Value Innovation; Bae Eun-ok, current Head of Cloud Technology; Yeom Sang-pil, current Head of Home IoT Products; Lim Bang-hyun, current Head of Global and Media Sales; Lim Sung-jun, current Head of Backbone Network; Jung So-i, current Head of Big Data; Jung Young-hoon, current Head of Financial Sales; Jung Cheol, current Head of Western Retail Sales