GS Group Announces Executive Personnel Changes on 27th
Emphasizes Young Talent in New Businesses...Notable External Appointments
'Recession' in Oil Refining and Construction Leads to Organizational Downsizing and Rank Integration
GS Group announced an executive reshuffle on the 27th, appointing Hong Soon-ki, the 'quiet 20-year supporter,' as Vice Chairman, and Heo Seo-hong, the '4th generation owner,' as CEO. The company explained that while placing proven talents in key positions, it aims to proactively strengthen crisis response capabilities in business areas expected to face downturns.
On this day, GS Group announced the 2025 executive appointments for a total of 42 people, including one promotion to vice chairman, seven CEO appointments (including one reassignment), two promotions to president, five promotions to vice president, seven promotions to executive director, 18 new appointments to managing director, and two reassignments. These executive appointments will be finalized after going through the boards of directors of each affiliate.
'20-Year Supporter' President Hong Soon-ki Promoted to Vice Chairman... '4th Generation Owner' Appointed as CEO
Hong Soon-ki, CEO of GS Corporation, who was promoted to vice chairman, is regarded as a figure who has quietly supported GS for 20 years since its launch, possessing expertise in finance and overall organization. After joining Honam Refinery in 1986 and passing through LG's restructuring headquarters, he moved to GS Corporation at its inception in 2004, serving as head of the business support team and chief financial officer (CFO). Notably, since his appointment as CEO in 2020, he has been recognized for stably assisting Chairman Heo Tae-soo in driving the group's management innovation.
The company explained, "The appointment of Vice Chairman Hong, the only vice chairman within GS Group, signifies strengthening the group's overall internal stability to withstand any external shocks amid uncertain management environments, while also powerfully supporting the future growth drive led by Chairman Heo Tae-soo."
Another notable appointment in this reshuffle is the retirement of Heo Yeon-soo, the '3rd generation owner' and CEO of GS Retail, and the nomination of Heo Seo-hong, the '4th generation owner' and head of the Management Strategy SU (vice president), as the new CEO. The new CEO Heo Seo-hong previously served as head of the Power and District Energy Business Division and head of the Management Support Headquarters at GS Energy, and as head of the Future Business Team at GS Corporation. During his tenure at GS Corporation, he played a role in outlining new businesses across the group and contributed to business diversification, including the acquisition of the global medical aesthetic company Hugel. Earlier this year, he moved to GS Retail, overseeing strategy, finance, and new business management.
Yu Jae-young, CEO of GS Power, and Yeo Eun-joo, CEO of GS Sports, Promoted to President
In this reshuffle, Yu Jae-young, CEO of GS Power, and Yeo Eun-joo, CEO of GS Sports, were also promoted to president. Yu, who was appointed CEO of GS Power this year, plans to advance the combined heat and power projects in Bucheon and Anyang regions and strengthen leadership in the future power market. Yeo, who has led the K League's heyday as CEO of GS Sports this year, is expected to accelerate the performance of FC Seoul soccer team through excellent player recruitment and outstanding gameplay.
The top management of power generation companies within GS Group was also significantly reshuffled. This move aims to effectively respond to major changes in the power market system, such as the introduction of real-time power markets, power price bidding systems, and the Distributed Energy Act, and to establish a foundation for sustainable growth.
Kim Seok-hwan, who was CEO of GS E&R, another power generation company, was transferred and appointed as CEO of GS EPS, a core power generation company, to carry out strategic responses during the power market transition, including the advancement of power generation facilities.
Kim Sung-won, vice president, was appointed as the new CEO of GS E&R, and Hwang Byung-so, executive director, was appointed as the new CEO of GS Donghae Power. Both Kim Sung-won and Hwang Byung-so accumulated energy-related expertise at government ministries such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy before moving to the private sector, and were recruited to GS in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Young Talents Emphasized in New Business Areas... External Appointments Also Noteworthy
In future new business areas, young and capable talents were given key roles, while internal and external talents leading digital transformation and future innovation across the organization were actively appointed.
Yeo In-chang, executive director and CEO of Parnas Hotel, was promoted to vice president in recognition of outstanding sales performance and customer base expansion. Choi Nuri, executive director and head of the Business Support Team at GS Corporation, was promoted to vice president for improving the group's overall structure through AI and digital technologies and laying the foundation for future growth. Jin Hyung-ro, an LNG expert at GS Energy, was also promoted to vice president.
Park Sol-ip, executive director leading business innovation in the Home Shopping BU at GS Retail, was promoted to vice president, and Jung Chun-ho, executive director who successfully turned around the supermarket business, was promoted to vice president and will take charge of the convenience store business division. Heo Cheol-hong, vice president of GS M-Biz, moved to GS Global's Planning and New Business Headquarters to contribute to future strategy and creation of new growth engines.
Additionally, GS Energy appointed Kim Jin-hak and Park Jong-sun, managing directors and experts in overseas resource development and trading, to respond to rapid changes in the energy market. Hwang Jae-woong, managing director leading new business expansion in the beyond sector at GS Corporation, and Kim Soo-yeon, managing director and CEO of GS Wind Power, a renewable energy subsidiary of GS E&R, were promoted to executive directors. Song Ji-ho, head of the Process Technology Division at GS Caltex who led digital transformation at the Yeosu plant, and Kim Yo-han, head of Home Shopping DX Division at GS Retail, were appointed as managing directors, strengthening new business and digital transformation efforts.
Lee Soo-hyun, managing director from Naver's Business Development Center, was appointed head of the Strategy Division at GS Retail, and Ji Seung-young, a Deloitte consultant and former talent manager at SK Innovation, was recruited as head of HR Innovation Team at GS Construction.
Hong Seok-hyun, vice president, was appointed as the new CEO of GS Ventures, the group's venture investment company. With the appointment of a new CEO at GS Ventures, which had been concurrently held by Heo Jun-nyeong, vice president and head of the Future Business Team at GS Corporation, Heo Jun-nyeong will be able to focus more on M&A and new business investments for GS Group.
Restructuring Petrochemical and Construction Amid 'Downturn'... Reducing Organization Size and Integrating Ranks
For business organizations expected to face difficult market conditions in the near term, such as refining, petrochemicals, and construction, proactive restructuring was carried out. GS Caltex plans to transform into a crisis-resilient organization by streamlining its organizational structure and focusing on operational optimization.
GS Construction, which is striving to overcome the construction market downturn, reorganized its executive structure to quickly respond to changes in the business environment and simplify its structure. The existing six business headquarters were reduced to three, and the vertical executive organizational hierarchy of 'headquarters-group-division' was condensed into a two-tier system of 'headquarters-division' or 'office-division.' Executive ranks were also integrated by merging the previous 'executive director' and 'vice president' ranks into a single 'vice president' rank to improve communication efficiency.
GS Construction appointed Shin Sang-chul, vice president, and Koo Bon-sam, vice president, as new CEOs of its subsidiaries Xi C&A and Xi S&D, respectively, accelerating efforts to strengthen core competencies and improve organizational culture centered on its main business over the past year.
A GS Group official stated, "We are proactively restructuring organizations in business areas expected to face difficult market conditions to enhance crisis response capabilities and prepare to expand personnel and organizations when the economy recovers."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
