Gu Ja-eun Appointed as New Chairman... Energy Business Expansion Expected
47 Executives Promoted and 9 Company CEOs Replaced
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] On the 26th, LS Group declared the dawn of a new era by appointing Koo Ja-eun (57), chairman of LS Mtron, as the new chairman. Succeeding the current chairman Koo Ja-yeol (68), Koo Ja-eun, the newly appointed chairman of LS Group, plans to boldly advance innovation across the entire group. The simultaneous replacement of CEOs of nine major affiliates along with the appointment of the new chairman clearly demonstrates the determination for ‘Koo Ja-eun-style innovation.’
Changing Heads of 9 Affiliates and Large-scale Promotions
LS Group announced that it held a board meeting this morning to finalize the appointment of the new chairman Koo Ja-eun and to carry out regular executive personnel changes.
Chairman Koo, whose term begins in January next year, is a leader in his 50s, 11 years younger than his predecessor. After taking office, Chairman Koo is expected to focus on the ‘energy transition’ era, including ESG and eco-friendliness, which have emerged as global management issues, and to strengthen efforts to expand power infrastructure and comprehensive energy solution businesses.
LS also newly organized the team to assist Chairman Koo. The heads of a total of nine affiliates, including the holding company LS Corporation, were replaced, and 47 people were promoted.
Myung Noh-hyun, president of LS Cable & System, who was recognized for his achievements in the global market, moved to become CEO of LS Corporation to assist Chairman Koo. Koo Bon-gyu, vice president of LS Mtron, was appointed CEO of LS Cable & System in recognition of his contribution to turning the company profitable. Two others, Kim Hyung-won, head of LS Cable & System’s Energy and Construction Business Division, and Kwon Bong-hyun, chief operating officer (COO) of LS Electric’s Automation CIC, were promoted to vice presidents. Additionally, six executive directors, 15 managing directors, and 24 new directors were also promoted.
An LS official said, "With the new LS 3rd phase system, we focused on revitalizing the entire group and accelerating future growth by actively responding to the electrification era, which has been further accelerated by ESG and eco-friendliness, through the large-scale appointment of next-generation leaders."
'Anticipated Arrival' of Koo Ja-eun, Accelerating Innovation as the 'Young LS'
The arrival of Koo Ja-eun as the new chairman of LS Group was a foreseen change. Under the principle of ‘cousin co-management,’ Koo Ja-eun was an early choice as successor to the current chairman Koo Ja-yeol. Although 11 years younger than his predecessor, Koo Ja-eun has been regarded as the right person to lead innovation due to his 30 years of field experience and his role in designing the group’s structural reform.
Leading LS Group from January 2022 to 2030, Chairman Koo is expected to highlight the innovations he has been sketching out more clearly and distinctly over the next nine years. LS Group’s holding chairmanship is sequentially held by cousins based on ‘tacit agreement’ regarding period and order. This personnel change was carried out smoothly without any significant issues, laying the foundation for a stable generational transition. The outgoing chairman Koo Ja-yeol plans to support the new chairman by passing on his experience and management know-how as chairman of the board of LS Corporation.
The newly launched ‘Koo Ja-eun administration’ is expected to accelerate its leap forward through digital transformation, innovation, and agile management theory. To this end, Chairman Koo made a bold move by promoting a record 47 executives and replacing the heads of nine affiliates. While LS Group has pursued stable management in recent years without major changes to CEOs and executives of key affiliates, it has attempted a sweeping change by replacing management of nine major affiliates and promoting 47 executives to coincide with the new chairman’s inauguration.
The reason Chairman Koo made such a significant change in management is to strengthen organizational capabilities in response to external environmental risks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and intensified global competition, and to lay the foundation for leading personnel and organizational management from a future growth perspective. He also showed his intention to foster next-generation leaders by appointing domestic and international sales experts.
Chairman Koo has been drawing the management blueprint as the next leader while serving as chairman of LS Mtron and head of the group’s Future Innovation Division. Agile management is a technique that creates creative innovation through ‘doing first, failing fast, learning what and how to improve from failure, and trying again.’ The many changes, including replacing executives of major affiliates in this personnel reshuffle, are also analyzed as part of Chairman Koo’s plan to successfully establish agile management.
Since Chairman Koo has more field experience compared to other business leaders, there is speculation that a unique attempt combining field experience with new management techniques will emerge. Following LG Group tradition, Chairman Koo started as a regular employee and gained experience across GS Caltex, LG Electronics, LG International, and major LS affiliates. Having worked seven years in affiliate factories, it took him 14 years to be appointed as an executive, reflecting his long-term grounding in the field. Within the group, it is expected that Chairman Koo’s accumulated know-how will create synergy with LS Group’s new growth businesses and core sectors, such as power infrastructure and comprehensive energy solution businesses.
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