KT’s board selects media business head as new chairman

Koo will be officially appointed as KT’s new leader following the final approval at a shareholders meeting scheduled in March.

When Koo is appointed, he will be the first insider to take the helm at the formerly state-owned company in 12 years. Over the period, former CEOs -- Hwang Chang-gyu Hwang and Lee Suk-chae -- were appointed from outside the company.

The firm said the board proposed two conditions in the new CEO’s contract and the Koo agreed to it.

Koo agreed to change the title of chairman to CEO, while lowering the pay and conditions to the level the board sets. He also consented to resign if convicted of severely violating laws and regulations of the company.

All these agendas will be finally confirmed during the shareholders meeting in March and the board of directors will push ahead with the revision of company articles to reflect the changes, according to the company.

The board’s decision came after the deliberation committee’s review of interviews conducted through the night on Thursday, the company said.

A total of nine candidates were interviewed by the deliberation committee. Among the nine candidates, eight are known as either current or former executives at KT.

Kim Jong-goo, chairman of the board, said in a statement that Koo was best suited for the position due to his specialty and insights in the information and communications technology industry.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)