Bohyun Kim of Daewoo, Jwanseok Cho of Kumho, and Jino Yoon of Dongbu, All Born in 1966
Stand Out in Performance Improvement and New Business Development
This year, the construction industry continues to face a crisis due to the economic downturn and rising costs. It is a time when companies must find new pathways and drive organizational transformation. In this context, attention is focused on the leadership of CEOs born in the Year of the Horse, as 2026 marks the Year of the Red Horse (Byeongo Year).
According to the construction industry on January 2, one of the most notable CEOs born in the Year of the Horse is Bohyun Kim, CEO of Daewoo Engineering & Construction (born in 1966). A former Air Force brigadier general, he led the acquisition team for Daewoo Engineering & Construction in 2021, overseeing the acquisition process by the Jungheung Group. He then joined management as Executive Vice President in 2023 and was promoted to CEO in December 2024. He is also the son-in-law of Jung Chan-sun, Chairman of Jungheung Group.
As CEO, Kim has focused on improving the company's structure. Even before his official inauguration, he merged the finance and strategy functions into a single Finance Strategy Division. To lay the foundation for sustainable future growth, he established the Smart Construction Technology Research Team, which is responsible for developing smart construction technologies. He aims to further advance the company's technology by expanding the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling) across all construction technology sectors.
Thanks to Kim's leadership, Daewoo Engineering & Construction's new orders saw significant growth compared to the previous year. As of the third quarter of last year, cumulative new orders reached 11.1556 trillion won, a 51.3% increase from 7.3722 trillion won during the same period the previous year. Orders for redevelopment projects also rose from 2.9823 trillion won in 2024 to 3.7727 trillion won last year.
The company is also achieving results by diversifying its business portfolio into non-residential sectors such as plant and overseas projects. In the plant sector, cumulative new orders through the third quarter of last year reached 1.272 trillion won, a 162.5% surge from 484.6 billion won in the same period the previous year. After signing a main contract for a mineral fertilizer plant worth approximately 1.081 trillion won with Turkmenistan's state-owned chemical corporation, the company has expanded into Central Asia. Last month, Kim visited Turkmenistan to meet with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the country's Supreme Leader, and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to discuss local business cooperation and other matters.
Additionally, Kim is focusing on nuclear power generation, which has been selected as a next-generation growth engine. He reorganized the Nuclear Power Business Division, previously under the Plant Business Division, into a unit reporting directly to the CEO to oversee it personally.
Jwanseok Cho, CEO of Kumho Construction, is also a Year of the Horse leader, born in 1966. After joining Kumho Construction in 1994, Cho gained experience in finance and management. He was appointed CEO in December 2023. Kumho Construction recorded a cumulative operating profit of 37.3 billion won through the third quarter of last year, marking a significant improvement compared to the operating loss of 187.3 billion won during the same period the previous year.
Under Cho's leadership, Kumho Construction launched a new residential brand, "Atera," in May 2024, which has been well received in the market. For example, all available units of "Dogok Atera" in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, were sold out. This complex consists of 82 units ranging from 44 to 84 square meters of exclusive area, spanning from two basement floors to seven above-ground floors, and is the first Atera brand project to debut in Gangnam.
Jino Yoon, CEO of Dongbu Construction (born in 1966), previously served as an executive responsible for outsourcing procurement and site management and as head of the Architecture Business Division. He was appointed CEO in March 2023. With experience in both field and management, he is recognized as an integrated management leader. Dongbu Construction achieved record results last year, with new orders totaling 4.167 trillion won-the highest since the company's founding. This success was driven by increased orders in both housing supply and private plant and advanced industrial facility sectors. As of the third quarter of last year, operating profit stood at 17.3 billion won, marking three consecutive quarters of profitability.
Yoon was awarded the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit at the "Housing Construction Day" ceremony held in December last year in recognition of his contributions to the development of the domestic housing construction industry. Despite industry challenges such as construction cost volatility and changes in interest rate environments, he established a stable business structure through efforts to strengthen brand competitiveness, improve risk management systems, and diversify the business portfolio, which were cited as reasons for the award.
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