Jung Yong-jin, E-commerce 'Personnel Overhaul'... Gmarket and SSG.com Executive Changes

Appointing Jeong Hyeong-gwon as Gmarket CEO
SSG.com names Choi Hun-hak as Executive Director
Building new leadership through continued collaboration with CJ
Praised as "laying the foundation for new e-commerce growth"

Shinsegae Group has carried out a major personnel overhaul in its e-commerce business. The group appointed new CEOs for its two major e-commerce affiliates operated by Emart, Gmarket and SSG.com, and filled key executive positions with new faces. This personnel move follows the group’s policy to enhance competitiveness by making timely personnel changes whenever necessary to maximize effectiveness.

On the 19th, Shinsegae Group announced the appointment of Jung Hyung-kwon, former head of Alibaba Korea, as the new CEO of Gmarket. The new CEO Jung (Vice President) previously served as head of Alibaba Korea and as the representative of Alipay Europe, Middle East, and Korea. He has worked at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, and also served as a financial executive at Coupang.

The company stated, "New CEO Jung is a financial expert with experience across investment, e-commerce, and fintech industries, and is expected to improve Gmarket’s organizational structure through new leadership. We anticipate building a balanced growth foundation based on profitability."

Jung Hyung-kwon, the new CEO of Gmarket, and Choi Hoon-hak, the new CEO of SSG.com. [Photo by Shinsegae Group]

Shinsegae Group is also reshuffling key executives at Gmarket while simultaneously reorganizing the structure. First, the existing PX (Product eXperience) division will be split into PX and Tech divisions. By establishing the Tech division, which consists of developers, as a separate unit, the group aims to strengthen capabilities in technology areas that will drive future growth such as artificial intelligence (AI). Kim Jung-woo, formerly of Naver, has been recruited as the head of the PX division, equivalent to Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Gmarket. The new head of the Tech division is Oh Cham, formerly of Coupang.

Shinsegae Group also made major organizational changes and personnel appointments at SSG.com. The existing four-division system (D/I, Sales, Marketing, Support) has been reduced to two divisions (D/I, Sales), with the Marketing division merged into the Sales division. Departments under the Support division will now report directly to the CEO. This slimming down aims to enhance specialized competitiveness.

Choi Hoon-hak, Executive Director, has been appointed as the new CEO of SSG.com. Shinsegae Group explained, "We judged that it would be effective for Executive Director Choi, who has been leading the Sales division to strengthen grocery and logistics competitiveness, to concurrently serve as CEO." An Jong-hoon, who was in charge of Emart’s D/T (Digital Transformation), has moved to become head of the D/I (Data/Infra) division. Former executives including Lee In-young, the previous CEO of SSG.com, and Jeon Hang-il, the former CEO of Gmarket, have stepped back to advisory roles.

Shinsegae Group emphasized that this leadership change is part of reorganizing the e-commerce growth system following the business cooperation agreement signed with CJ Group earlier this month. Along with reorganizing the platform logistics system and simultaneously replacing key executives, the group aims to restart growth in its online business, which had temporarily slowed down. Shinsegae Group stated, "The innovation drive for the online platform’s leap forward is still ongoing," and added, "Shinsegae, Korea’s leading distribution company, will further solidify its position as a market leader."