Sangjo·IT... Woongjin's All-Out Effort to Find New Growth Engines

Main Business 'Education' Growth Stagnation
Plan to Expand Funeral Services through Fried Life Acquisition
Seeking Business Expansion Linking Education and Funeral Services
Focusing on New Business Expansion... Strengthening IT Business

Woongjin Group is accelerating its expansion into new businesses. Following the expansion of IT businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI), it is also entering the funeral service industry. By acquiring Freed Life, the number one company in the funeral service sector, it is expected to expand the market with combined education and funeral service products.

According to industry sources on the 7th, Woongjin is currently negotiating with private equity fund (PEF) operator VIG Partners over the sale of management rights of Freed Life. VIG Partners acquired Freed Life in 2020. Holding 80% of the shares, it sold about 20% of the shares to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) in July last year. Woongjin is reportedly planning to acquire the management rights as well as all shares of Freed Life held by VIG Partners and KKR.

Woongjin Group CI. Provided by Woongjin

Woongjin’s main business is education, led by its affiliate Woongjin ThinkBig. However, the entire education market is facing difficulties due to a declining school-age population. Competitors such as Kyowon and Daekyo have already entered the senior business sector. This is because the senior market is growing due to aging, and it can be expanded into various businesses linked to existing operations. If Woongjin acquires Freed Life, it is expected to link it with its existing education and health functional food businesses.

Currently, both parties are discussing an appropriate corporate valuation. Woongjin values Freed Life at a minimum of 800 billion KRW to a maximum of 1 trillion KRW. On the other hand, VIG Partners is reportedly expecting a sale price of at least 1.5 trillion KRW, considering the management premium.

A Woongjin official said, “The review related to the acquisition of Freed Life is still ongoing, and nothing has been finalized yet,” but added, “If the acquisition is completed, we will develop various businesses that can create synergy effects with funeral services.”

Woongjin is continuously expanding its investment in new businesses, with IT being a representative example. As the holding company, Woongjin has established an IT business division and has devoted considerable effort to expanding its IT business over a long period. This is to reduce dependence on the stagnant education business. As of the third quarter of last year, Woongjin’s IT service division recorded sales of 81.3 billion KRW, accounting for 62.9% of the holding company’s total sales. Sales steadily grew to 87.9 billion KRW in 2022 and 99 billion KRW in 2023.

The intention to strengthen the IT business is also evident in the 2025 regular personnel appointments. In this personnel reshuffle, Lee Soo-young, CEO of Woongjin’s business division, was promoted to president. CEO Lee is an IT solutions expert with experience at LG Electronics, Accenture, and LG CNS, and joined Woongjin in 2018. This promotion appears to reflect the good performance of company-wide resource management (ERP), cloud, smart factory, and smart logistics businesses led by CEO Lee.

Recently, Woongjin strengthened its IT business by establishing the ‘Global Business Promotion Office’ directly under CEO Lee Soo-young. The Global Business Promotion Office is an organization aimed at overseas business based on its proprietary solutions, 'WRMS (Rental Sales Management Solution)' and 'WDMS (Digital Mobility Solution)'. Woongjin plans to expand overseas business by leveraging the expertise and capabilities of its domestic IT business to secure customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions.