Noh Tae-moon, Kwak No-jeong, Kwon Bong-seok, Shin Hak-cheol... 500 CEOs of 30 Major Groups to End Terms in First Half of Next Year

Unico Search Survey... 1,145 Internal Directors with Terms Expiring in the First Half of Next Year
515 CEO-Level Executives... Kakao Has the Most Internal Directors at 108
Decisions on the Positions of 99 CEO-Level Executives in the 4 Major Groups to Be Made Soon

Nam Tae-moon, President and Head of Mobile Experience (MX) Division at Samsung Electronics Device Experience (DX) Division; Kwak No-jung, President and CEO of SK Hynix; Kwon Bong-seok, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Corporation; Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Chem, and other CEOs of the top 30 conglomerates totaling 515 are scheduled to officially complete their terms in the first half of next year. The terms of 99 CEOs from the top 4 conglomerates (Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG) will also expire. Among registered executives at the level of inside directors, 1,145 will end their terms in the first half of next year, with Kakao having the highest number of inside directors at 108.

According to the 'Status of Inside Directors with Terms Expiring in the First Half of 2025 for the Top 30 Conglomerates' survey released on the 28th by global headhunting specialist Unico Search, the number of inside directors officially remaining in office after early January next year is 3,704. Among them, 1,145 (30.9%) are scheduled to complete their terms in the first half of next year. Of the 1,145 inside directors whose terms end in the first half of next year, 515 (45%) hold the CEO title.

The most notable point in next year's personnel changes is the appointments within the top 4 conglomerates. Among the top 4 conglomerates, 219 inside directors will have their terms expire in the first half of next year, including 99 CEOs. The breakdown is SK (98 inside directors, 41 CEOs), LG (51, 26), Samsung (39, 17), and Hyundai Motor (31, 15).

For Samsung Electronics, the top domestic company by sales, President Nam Tae-moon, President Park Hak-gyu, Head of DX Division Management Support Office, and President Lee Jung-bae, Head of Semiconductor (DS) Division Memory Business Unit, are included among those whose terms expire in the first half of next year. Although Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of the DX Division, has a term until March 2026, he has not been completely excluded from personnel considerations, drawing attention. Former DS Division Head President Kyung Kye-hyun's term was until March next year but he resigned early in May last year.

Among affiliates, the terms of President Choi Yoon-ho of Samsung SDI, President Jang Deok-hyun of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and President Namgoong Beom of S-1 will end in March next year.

In the SK Group, President Kwak No-jung, President Park Won-cheol of SKC, and President Yoon Byung-seok of SK Gas are included. Hyundai Motor Group has President Song Ho-sung of Kia, President Lee Kyu-seok of Hyundai Mobis, and President Hong Hyun-sung of Hyundai Engineering approaching term expiration. In LG Group, whether Vice Chairmen Kwon Bong-seok and Shin Hak-cheol, and President Jo Joo-wan of LG Electronics will be reappointed will soon be decided at the board meeting.

The group with the highest number of inside directors whose terms expire in the first half of next year is Kakao, with 108. Since the group has about 130 affiliates, many inside directors are scheduled to complete their terms. Among these 108, 85 (78.7%) are CEOs. Key CEOs include Yoon Ho-young of Kakao Bank, Ryu Geung-seon of Kakao Mobility, and Kim Byung-hak of Kakao Brain.

Following Kakao, Hanwha (102), POSCO and Lotte (83), GS (58), Hanjin and SM (43) have many inside directors with terms expiring in the first half of next year. Major CEOs include Jung Ki-seop of POSCO Holdings, Lee Si-woo of POSCO, Park Yoon-gi of Lotte Chilsung Beverage, and Lee Young-gu and Lee Chang-hyup of Lotte Wellfood.

Kim Hye-yang, CEO of Unico Search, said, "When the business environment is difficult, it is common to seek a turnaround by setting a new business direction and changing the stagnant atmosphere through new figures centered on young talent. This characteristic is expected to be more strongly reflected in CEO-level personnel changes to be made from the end of this year to early next year."