Kolon Group gears toward fourth generational leadership

Lee Kyu-ho [Provided by Kolon Group]

South Korea’s chemical and textile conglomerate Kolon Group on Thursday has geared for a shift to a fourth generational leadership as Lee Kyu-ho, the son of honorary chairman Lee Woong-yeol and vice president of Kolon Global, was promoted to head Kolon Mobility Group dubbed as the group’s new growth engine.

During this year’s annual executive reshuffles that came about a month earlier than usual on Monday, the group replaced the leadership of its three core businesses with younger generations as part of efforts to stay competitive in the fast changing business landscape.

Lee Kyu-ho, 38 and the great grandson of Kolon Group fonder Lee Won-man, will lead Kolon Mobility Group as the president.

In the reshuffle of 55 executives, 16 out of 22 promoted were in their 40s, underscoring the group’s efforts to speed up generational shift.

It appointed Kolon Glotech CEO Kim Young-beom as CEO of Kolon Industries. Kolon Plastics CEO Bang Min-soo will lead Kolon Glotech, while Huh Sung, vice president of Kolon Industries, is promoted to head Kolon Plastics.

According to industry sources, the new CEOs of the three core businesses are expected to create major changes to enhance the group’s future competitiveness under Lee Kyu-ho in mobility business.

Kolon Mobility Group aims to achieve revenue of 3.6 trillion won ($2.59 billion) in 2025. The firm plans to integrate its imported car business, including BMW, Audi, Volvo, Jeep, and Rolls-Royce, to expand it into a distribution-focused mobility business.

By Lee Yoon-jae and Jenny Lee