Food business head tapped to lead CJ Cheiljedang

South Korea’s food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group has promoted or appointed 58 executives, including a new chief to lead major affiliate CJ Cheiljedang, the group said Monday.

Vice President Kang Shin-ho, 58, was appointed as the new leader of the group’s food unit CJ Cheiljedang. Kang was credited with accelerating the spread of the company’s Korean cuisine brand Bibigo in the global market since 2018, the group said. 

Vice President Cha In-hyok, 53, was tapped to lead CJ OliveNetworks, which specializes in information technology consulting, system integration, data centers and mobile services. Cha was also appointed as the group’s chief digital officer. He joined the company in September after serving as the head of SK Telecom’s internet of things and digital transformation divisions.

The 58 promoted include Koo Chang-keun, 46, who will oversee health and beauty store Olive Young; and Choi Jin-hee, 51, who is to head the Studio Dragon Corporation, a drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ E&M.

Among them, four are women and 19 are newly appointed executives, with the average age being 45 years, as compared with 47 last year.

A group spokesperson said 2020 is a year to transform the group’s management paradigm and lay the foundation for innovative growth. The reshuffle of executives was “strictly based on performance,” the spokesperson added.

Other year-end management reshuffles carried out by large Korean companies also highlighted promotions of women and younger executives.

LG Household & Health Care promoted two female employees in their 30s to the executive level, with the number of female senior officials at the firm now reaching 37. This month steelmaker Posco appointed a female director of its steel mill for the first time in the company’s history. SK, Lotte and Hyundai Motor also made changes favoring female executives.

Another highlight is that the number of younger executives increased. Members of the management team born in the 1950s retired, and a new crop of leaders born in the 1960s emerged.

LG Electronics Vice Chairman Cho Sung-jin, 63, resigned from the company to be replaced by Kwon Bong-seok, 56. Shinsegae Group appointed Kang Hee-suk, 50, as the new leader of its retail chain E-mart to replace former CEO Lee Kap-soo, 61. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)