The average tenure of CEOs at South Korea's top 30 conglomerates and their affiliates is 2.5 years, with 18 percent of them leaving in less than a year, a survey by a corporate tracker said Wednesday.
According to CEO Score, executives stayed on for more than three years at only seven of the surveyed conglomerates. At three conglomerates, they were let go in less than two years.
The survey covered 2,504 CEOs at the business groups and their subsidiaries who were appointed in 2000 and later. Members of owner families were excluded.
The analysis indicated that large-scale manufacturers, food and beverage companies, and retailers tended to keep their executives longer.
Young Poong Corp., a major zinc exporter, was above average at 3.81 years. Food company Harim was next at 3.71 years, followed by 3.32 years at Hyundai Department Store.
Booyoung Group, a construction company, recorded the shortest period of 1.23 years, meaning CEOs at the firm are replaced nearly every year. The average tenure at Daewoo Engineering & Construction was 1.76 years. KT's average was 1.9 years.
Executives tended to stay for at least two years at the top five conglomerates. At Samsung Group, the CEOs kept their places for 2.76 years. At Hyundai Motor Group, the CEOs remained for 2.09 years. For SK Group, the average was 2.46 years, while at LG Group, it was 2.79 years. At Lotte, the tenure averaged 2.81 years.
CEOs of Young Poong Development, an affiliate of Young Poong Corp., set a record for the longest tenure of 13.77 years during the measured period. Their counterparts at Hyundai HCN, a communications and network subsidiary of Hyundai Department Store, came next, staying for 12.52 years. Hyundai Futures of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group ranked third with 11.83 years.
At the opposite end, 52 of the surveyed firms showed an average tenure of less than a year.
Stints at SK Incheon Petrochem, a subsidiary of SK Group, end in three months, the shortest in the survey. Tenures at Lotte Asset Development Co., affiliated with Lotte Group, end on average in under 3 1/2 months. SK Group's SK Advanced keeps its executives for an average 0.3 year, the survey showed.
Kim Jae-keun, former chief of Hyundai Finance Corp. affiliated with Hyundai Heavy Industries, served the longest of 15.2 years, being appointed in March 2000 and retiring in May 2015. (Yonhap)
