Wireless and Wired Sales Manager Heonmun Lim, Former KT Mass General Manager

Analysis of KT's Next CEO Candidates
High Understanding of Telecommunications Industry... Marketing and Sales Experts

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Former KT Mass Division President Lim Heon-moon is recognized as a leading expert in wired and wireless marketing and sales within the telecommunications industry. He was among the final nine candidates in the 2019 selection process for the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and was considered a strong contender.

Born in 1960, Lim is the eldest among the four candidates. He graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Business Administration and holds a master's and doctorate in Business Administration from Seoul National University. After working at KT for 26 years, he briefly left the company in 2010. He then served as a professor in the Business Administration Department at Chungnam National University before returning to KT in 2014 as Vice President and Head of the Customer Division. He served as KT Mass Division President until 2017. Most recently, he was the director of Daejeon Technopark.

Heonmun Lim, Former President of KT Mass Division

Lim is a figure with a broad understanding of the telecommunications industry. He served as Head of Marketing Strategy at KTF and held positions such as Head of Home Customer Strategy Headquarters, Executive Vice President of Home Operations, and Executive Vice President of T&C Operations at KT. He has extensive sales experience not only with individual customers but also in the corporate sector. He led the initial launch of Giga Internet, rapidly securing subscribers. The commercialization of KT's key product, the AI speaker 'Giga Genie,' is also one of Lim's achievements. Additionally, he is regarded as maintaining harmonious relationships with employees and labor unions.

Lim's weakness is that he has been away from KT for a significant period since December 2017. Among the competing candidates, Yoon Kyung-rim, Head of Group Transformation Division, and Shin Soo-jung, Head of Enterprise Division, are currently working at KT, and former Corporate Division Head Park Yoon-young worked at KT until 2020.

There is also an assessment that being a telecommunications business expert might be a disadvantage. Currently, most of KT's revenue comes from wired and wireless telecommunications and Internet TV (IPTV) businesses, which are Lim's specialties. However, the telecommunications industry is now focusing on new ICT businesses such as AI, big data, and cloud computing as core growth engines. Lim's lack of experience in the ICT new business sector is seen as a drawback compared to other candidates. He has also been criticized for receiving a fine of 10 million won by summary order on charges of 'splitting contributions to members of the National Assembly' along with CEO Koo Hyun-mo.