Lee Jae-yong of Samsung, Refrains from Field Visits Ahead of Appellate Court Ruling
Shin Dong-bin of Lotte, Expected to Focus on Management Strategy Formulation
Koo Kwang-mo of LG, Seeking Ways to Strengthen Competitiveness
Chey Tae-won of SK, Expected to Establish Economic Crisis Countermeasures
Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai, Spending a Quiet Holiday Without External Schedules
This year, the heads of major business groups are spending a quiet Lunar New Year without any special external schedules. Whether it is the chairman of a group that recorded record-breaking performance last year or the chairman engrossed in business restructuring, they are deeply concerned amid a challenging management environment marked by a global economic downturn and the inauguration of the Trump administration's second term.
According to the business community on the 24th, major group chairmen such as Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group, Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group, and Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group plan to spend the holiday with their families without visiting business sites or traveling abroad.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to focus on managing business issues domestically ahead of the appellate court ruling on the 'unfair merger and accounting fraud' case scheduled for early next month. Since he began leading Samsung in earnest in 2014, Chairman Lee has visited overseas business sites during Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays to inspect local operations and held business meetings with global CEOs. However, until the first quarter of this year, he is expected to focus on resolving management risks and restoring technological competitiveness.
(From left) Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group. Photo by Asia Economy DB
Chairman Shin Dong-bin is also understood to have no special schedule during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. Lotte has been undergoing intense reform and business restructuring amid performance slumps and liquidity crisis rumors last year. A Lotte Holdings official explained, "If there are no special schedules, he plans to spend time with family while traveling between Korea and Japan," adding, "Given the group's situation, he is expected to focus more on establishing management strategies this year."
LG Group also experienced a performance slump in the second half of last year at major affiliates such as LG Electronics, LG Energy Solution, and LG Chem. Accordingly, Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is expected to devote himself to strategy formulation domestically during the Lunar New Year holiday. After spending time with family in Korea during the holiday, he will seek ways to strengthen competitiveness and expand customer value in the so-called 'ABC' fields?AI (artificial intelligence), bio, and cleantech?identified as future growth engines.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group is also expected to stay at home during the Lunar New Year holiday and continue his management planning. Despite record-high performance last year, the launch of the Trump administration's second term has brought significant uncertainty to the automobile industry, Hyundai Motor Group's core business, and Chairman Chung is expected to focus on devising countermeasures.
Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group is also reported to have no special schedule during the Lunar New Year holiday. On the 19th, Chairman Chey appeared on KBS Sunday Diagnosis Live and spoke about the Korean economic crisis, saying, "There is a risk of a triple wave in the unstable economic situation," and emphasized, "South Korea alone lacks the power to change international order or rules, so partners with whom we can cooperate are needed." This implies the necessity to establish new methods to cope with the economic crisis not only in Korea but worldwide.
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