Governance Committee Approves 14 Outside and 10 Inside Directors
Three-Stage Appointment Process Conducted Over 3 Months
Final Candidate Selection Planned for Late Next Month
KT&G's Governance Committee (Giguwi) held a meeting on the 11th and confirmed a total of 24 candidates for the next president, including 14 outside candidates and 10 internal candidates, as the longlist for the next president. The current president, Baek Bok-in, was not included in the next president candidate pool as he expressed on the 9th that he would not seek a fourth term.
The outside candidate pool included all 14 applicants, consisting of 8 public recruitment applicants and 6 candidates recommended by search firms. The internal candidate pool included 10 individuals from the senior management development program.
KT&G's president appointment process is conducted fairly and transparently over approximately three months in three stages: 'Governance Committee - President Candidate Recommendation Committee - Shareholders' Meeting Approval,' in accordance with relevant laws and the articles of incorporation.
Going forward, the Governance Committee will conduct a full review of the president candidate pool. During this process, reflecting the fair and objective opinions of a five-member selection advisory group, the committee plans to select the first shortlist of candidates to recommend to the President Candidate Recommendation Committee (Sachuwi) by the end of this month.
Subsequently, the Sachuwi will conduct a systematic and in-depth review of the first shortlist of candidates, narrow down the second shortlist by mid-next month, publicly disclose the list, and select the final candidate by the end of next month. The next president will then be appointed at the regular shareholders' meeting at the end of March, reflecting the consensus of all shareholders.
According to the current articles of incorporation, an incumbent president who does not intend to seek reappointment may participate in the Sachuwi; however, President Baek has expressed his intention not to participate in the Sachuwi to enhance the fairness and objectivity of the appointment process. Accordingly, this Sachuwi will be composed entirely of outside directors. Additionally, KT&G's board plans to propose an amendment to the articles of incorporation at this shareholders' meeting to require the Sachuwi to be composed entirely of outside directors regardless of the incumbent president's intention to seek reappointment.
Baek Jong-su, Chairman of KT&G's Governance Committee, stated, "We respect President Baek's decision to step down, emphasizing the need for new leadership to elevate KT&G to a higher level as a global leading company," and added, "We will diligently conduct the review process for selecting the president under the principle of maximizing all shareholders' interests and the company's future value." He further said, "We will continue to communicate transparently with shareholders and stakeholders throughout the entire next president appointment process based on enhanced fairness and objectivity."
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