Jeong Hyeong-gwon, Former Alibaba Executive, Recruited as Gmarket CEO
Choi Hun-hak Promoted to New CEO of SSG.com
Gmarket Expected to Expand Business After Overcoming Financial Risks
SSG.com Positions to Maximize Cooperation with CJ Group
Shinsegae Group has launched a comeback battle in the domestic e-commerce market. The group has carried out a major personnel reshuffle, replacing executives including the CEOs of Gmarket and SSG.com, e-commerce subsidiaries under Emart. In particular, Gmarket, acquired in 2021, has deployed personnel who previously worked at rival companies such as Coupang, Naver, and China's Alibaba Group. As Shin Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group, who was promoted in April, is focusing all efforts on improving profitability during his first 100 days in office, attention is focused on whether this personnel overhaul will enhance Shinsegae's e-commerce competitiveness.
Jung Hyung-kwon, former Alibaba Korea General Manager, as the new CEO of Gmarket, and Choi Jun-hak, promoted to CEO of SSG.com and Head of Sales Division. [Photo by Shinsegae Group]
Shinsegae Establishes New E-commerce Lineup
According to the distribution industry on the 20th, Shinsegae Group appointed Jung Hyung-kwon, former head of Alibaba Korea, as the new CEO of Gmarket yesterday. Jung previously served as head of Alibaba Korea and CEO of Alipay Europe, Middle East, and Korea, and worked at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and as a financial executive at Coupang. Shinsegae Group also recruited Oh Cham, a former Coupang executive, as head of the Tech division established within Gmarket’s developer organization, and Kim Jung-woo, formerly of Naver, as the head of the PX division, equivalent to Chief Product Officer (CPO).
SSG.com promoted Choi Jun-hak, Executive Director and Head of Sales, to CEO. The group explained that it judged it effective for Choi, who has been strengthening grocery and logistics competitiveness, to concurrently serve as CEO. The D/I (Data/Infrastructure) division head position was assigned to Ahn Jong-hoon, who was overseeing Emart’s D/T (Digital Transformation). The group stated, "Following the platform logistics system overhaul through collaboration with CJ Group, we have chosen a complete change by simultaneously replacing key executives, thereby kickstarting new growth in the online business that had momentarily stalled."
Partnering with CJ and Deploying Rival Leaders to Reclaim E-commerce
This personnel reshuffle clearly reflects Shinsegae Group’s sense of crisis regarding its e-commerce business. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the domestic e-commerce market grew 9% last year, reaching 90 trillion won. During the same period, offline market growth was only 3.7%. The share of the e-commerce market in the domestic distribution industry also surpassed half, increasing from 49.2% in 2022 to 50.5% last year. As of April this year, the online share expanded to 54%.
However, Shinsegae-affiliated e-commerce companies have continued to post poor results. SSG.com, spun off from Emart’s online shopping mall business in 2018, has recorded annual losses exceeding 100 billion won, and Gmarket, acquired from eBay Korea in 2021, posted an operating loss of 32.1 billion won on a consolidated basis last year. In contrast, Coupang achieved sales exceeding 30 trillion won and operating profits in the 600 billion won range last year, while AliExpress, led by Alibaba Group, is accelerating its domestic market penetration.
Shinsegae Group plans to strengthen competitiveness in the e-commerce sector through this personnel reshuffle, aiming to establish a position comparable to Shinsegae Department Store or Emart. A group official said, "It is true that Shinsegae Group’s e-commerce sector has not yet achieved the influence of offline operations. By strengthening competitiveness through top industry experts, we will kickstart new growth in the online business while solidifying our position as Korea’s leading distribution company and market leader."
In particular, Chairman Jung has been conducting frequent personnel changes based on the principle of ‘reward and punishment.’ A representative example is the ‘one-point personnel change’ in April, when the CEO of Shinsegae Construction was replaced. Shinsegae Construction has faced liquidity crises this year due to sluggish sales performance amid the real estate market downturn. Last year, it recorded an operating loss of 187.8 billion won on a consolidated basis, leading to Emart’s first-ever annual operating loss. Consequently, Shinsegae Group abruptly dismissed CEO Jung Doo-young and appointed Heo Byung-hoon, Executive Vice President of the Management Strategy Office, in his place.
Industry Evaluates "Focus on Management... CJ Synergy Also Threatening"
However, industry insiders analyze that Shinsegae Group’s recent personnel changes emphasize ‘profitability management’ rather than ‘business expansion’ in the e-commerce sector. The new Gmarket CEO Jung is a seasoned financial expert in the investment banking (IB) sector and is known for leading the introduction of Alipay during his tenure at Alibaba Korea. Given Gmarket’s ongoing losses, it is likely that the group will prioritize resolving financial risks before expanding the business.
Additionally, attention has been drawn to the possibility that Shinsegae can accelerate logistics network construction through collaboration with CJ Group. An industry insider said, "Even Coupang had to spend several years and significant costs to establish its logistics network. If SSG.com can utilize CJ Logistics’ network, which rivals Coupang’s, its competitiveness is expected to improve."
In fact, SSG.com has been purchasing products in bulk and building large logistics centers like Coupang. However, after three consecutive years of losses exceeding 100 billion won, it abandoned plans to operate its own logistics network and decided to outsource to CJ Logistics. In this context, Executive Director Choi, who has been strengthening logistics competitiveness, is regarded as the optimal person to lead the current situation.
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