James Jang, Former Alibaba Executive Born in 1985, Appointed as New Gmarket CEO... Shinsegae Selects 44% of New Executives in Their 40s

2026 Regular Executive Appointments
Significant Promotion of Executives Born in the 1980s
Performance-Based System

James Jang (Korean name: Jang Seunghwan), a former Alibaba executive, has been appointed as the new CEO of Gmarket, a joint venture subsidiary established by Shinsegae Group and China's Alibaba Group. Juhyung Park, CEO of Shinsegae Department Store, and Sungwook Moon, CEO of Signite, have both been promoted from executive vice president to president.

James Jang, CEO of Gmarket. Provided by Shinsegae Group

On September 26, Shinsegae Group announced its regular executive appointments for 2026. As Chairman Yongjin Chung and Chairwoman Yukyung Chung are proceeding with the separation of their respective business units, this round of appointments is notable for filling over 40% of new executive positions with individuals in their 40s, reflecting a performance-based renewal strategy. For example, James Jang, the newly appointed CEO of Gmarket, who was born in 1985 and is 40 years old this year, previously managed Lazada, Alibaba's Southeast Asian platform. As an expert in the e-commerce sector, he has been tasked with leading Gmarket's new vision for growth, focusing on 'global expansion for sellers' and 'enhancing AI technology capabilities' to drive the company's resurgence.

Juhyung Park, CEO of Shinsegae and CEO of Shinsegae Central (left), and Sungwook Moon, CEO of Shinsegae Live Shopping and CEO of Signite. Provided by Shinsegae Group

In this round of appointments, Yukyung Chung made her first independent personnel decisions in the department store division since her promotion last year, implementing changes based on strict meritocracy. Juhyung Park, who was promoted to president of Shinsegae Department Store, was recognized for his achievements in leading innovations such as the opening of House of Shinsegae and Suite Park. He will continue to concurrently serve as CEO of Shinsegae Central. Sungwook Moon, husband of Chairwoman Chung and CEO of Signite, was also promoted to president and will concurrently serve as CEO of Shinsegae Live Shopping. He is expected to drive a new leap forward for live shopping, aiming for a turnaround and creating synergy with various online businesses.

Shinsegae DF (duty-free), which has experienced deteriorating performance due to sluggish market conditions, has appointed Seokkoo Lee, CEO of Shinsegae Live Shopping, as its new CEO in an effort to find a breakthrough. The new CEO is a veteran executive who has previously served as CEO of Chosun Hotel and Starbucks Korea.

Additionally, Deokjoo Kim, head of the overseas fashion division, has been nominated as the new CEO of Shinsegae International. Kim has been entrusted with the critical role of improving performance based on his accumulated expertise. For the cosmetics division of Shinsegae International, Minseong Seo, born in 1980, has been appointed as CEO. Seo is an expert who has led the development of beauty business innovation strategies at Shinsegae Department Store and Shinsegae International. Seungmin Lee, born in 1985, has been named CEO of the Cosmetics Division 2 and has become the group's first female CEO. Of the 32 newly appointed executives, 14-representing 44%-are in their 40s. With this wave of appointments, the proportion of executives in their 40s at Shinsegae Group has doubled to 16% of the total.

Elsewhere, Taekwon Choi, head of sales at Emart and an expert in supply chain management (SCM), has been appointed as the new CEO of SSG.com, a key pillar of Shinsegae Group's e-commerce business. Marketing expert Hoonhak Choi, the outgoing CEO of SSG.com, will move to become CEO of Chosun Hotel & Resort, while Hyungseop Lim, who has been in charge of B2B (business-to-business) operations, has been newly appointed as CEO of Shinsegae Food.

A Shinsegae Group representative stated, "The advancement of young leaders demonstrates the group's commitment to a talent development system based on work capabilities and performance," adding, "We will focus on maximizing our core business competitiveness through new leadership that embodies a performance-oriented approach."