Yukyungseon Yoo, Chairman of Yujin Group Who Acquired YTN... Growing the Company Through M&A

Starting This Year, Full-Scale Third-Generation Management Succession Begins

Yoo Kyung-sun, chairman of Eugene Group, which acquired the news channel YTN, is a figure who expanded not only the core ready-mixed concrete business but also the building materials distribution business.

Yoo Kyung-sun, Chairwoman of Eugene Group [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

Born on August 3, 1955, as the eldest son of Yoo Jae-pil, the founder of Eugene Group, Chairman Yoo graduated from Jungdong High School in Seoul and Yonsei University with a major in Chinese Language and Literature.

In 1985, he became the CEO of Eugene General Development and took charge of the ready-mixed concrete business, making the company the industry leader. Ready-mixed concrete was one of the core businesses of Eugene Group.

After serving as chairman of Eugene Corporation, he succeeded his father as group chairman in 2004.

Chairman Yoo earned the nickname "M&A genius" in the market. Through active mergers and acquisitions, including Korea Cement, Korea Asset Valuation (formerly Korea Bond Valuation), Logen Courier, Hi-Mart, and Dongyang, he elevated the group to the ranks of mid-sized enterprises. At one point, the group ranked within the top 30 in the business world.

However, following the financial crisis and the severe downturn in the construction market, he sold off Logen Courier, Hi-Mart, and others.

Currently, Eugene Group consists of about 50 subsidiaries across four business sectors: building materials and distribution, finance, logistics and IT, and leisure and entertainment. Eugene Group's vision is "a company that creates new value with creative talents and serves human society."

In the building materials and distribution sector, the group includes Eugene Corporation, Dongyang, Eugene AMC, and Eugene Hanil Fibers; in finance, Eugene Investment & Securities, Eugene Asset Management, Eugene Investment Futures, and Eugene Private Equity; in logistics and IT, Eugene Logistics and Eugene IT Services; and in leisure and entertainment, Pureunsol GC Pocheon, Pureunsol GC Jangseong, and Eugene M.

This year, Eugene Group has begun the formal process of third-generation management succession. In the personnel reshuffle earlier this year, Yoo's eldest son, Yoo Seok-hoon, then vice president of Eugene Corporation, was promoted to president of the Group Management Innovation Division. Yoo's eldest daughter, Yoo Jung-min, then manager at Dongyang, was promoted to assistant managing director and appointed as head of financial planning and growth strategy.

Born in 1982, President Yoo graduated from Yonsei University and earned an MBA from Columbia University in the United States. After working at Eugene Asset Management and the global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, he joined Eugene Corporation as a manager in 2014. President Yoo is also a middle school classmate of Jung Ki-sun, president of HD Hyundai, from Cheongun Middle School.