KT Next CEO Candidate Applicants Announced Today... Intense Competition Expected

Current and Former KT Executives Mentioned as Political Candidates

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] KT's board of directors will announce the candidates for the next CEO today (the 20th). Candidates include current and former KT executives as well as figures from the political sphere. Who will lead KT Group, ranked 12th in the business world?

Besides the current KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, candidates who have declared their intention to run include former Saenuri Party lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee, former KTF Vice President Kim Ki-yeol, and former POSCO ICT President Choi Doo-hwan. Former lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee was the first to apply. Born in 1959, Kwon graduated from Kyungpook National University with a degree in electronic engineering and joined KT in 1986, eventually serving as Executive Vice President in charge of KT Networks business division. She entered politics in 2012 when she was nominated as an IT-specialized female entrepreneur for Daegu Buk-gu Gap in the 19th general election.

KT current CEO Koo Hyun-mo (from left), former Saenuri Party lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee, former POSCO ICT president Choi Doo-hwan, former KTF vice president Kim Ki-yeol, and Go Jin, chairman of the Digital Platform Government Committee.

Born in 1956, former Vice President Kim Ki-yeol graduated from Hanyang University and served as Director of KT Management Research Institute (Managing Director) and Vice President of KTF's Management Support Division. Kim is the nephew of Pastor Kim Jang-hwan, a senior figure in the Christian community, and served as head of the ICT Hope Headquarters during President Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign. Born in 1954, former President Choi Doo-hwan graduated from Seoul National University and served as CEO of Neowave, head of KT’s new business division, President of KT Comprehensive Technology Institute, and President of POSCO ICT.

In the political sphere, former lawmaker Kim Sung-tae, born in 1954, is also mentioned as a candidate. Kim served as head of the Korea Intelligent Information Society Agency and was a proportional representative for the United Future Party in the 20th National Assembly. He also served as an IT special advisor for Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign.

In the industry, Ko Jin, Chairperson of the Digital Platform Government Committee, is considered a strong candidate. Born in 1961, Ko graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in electronic engineering and earned a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Syracuse University in the U.S. Ko, son of former Prime Minister Ko Gun, founded Barovision, a wireless internet solution company, in 1994. He has served as a member of the National Science and Technology Research Council’s Convergence Research Committee and the Presidential 4th Industrial Revolution Committee. Ko is also one year junior to President Yoon at Daekwang Elementary School. Other KT alumni mentioned include former KT Powertel President Park Heon-yong and former KT Enterprise Division President Park Yoon-young.

About ten current KT executives are also included in the candidate pool. According to KT’s internal regulations, 16 executives at the vice president level or higher who have worked for two or more years at KT headquarters or major group companies are automatically registered as candidates under the succession program. Among them are Yoon Kyung-rim, President of KT Group Transformation Division, and Kim Cheol-soo, President of KT Skylife.

KT’s board of directors plans to announce the applicants this afternoon. KT will narrow down the candidates to select finalists who will give presentations, and then finalize the candidates through interviews on the 7th of next month. The next KT CEO will be officially decided at the shareholders’ meeting next month. The term of office is three years after appointment at the shareholders’ meeting.