KT completes new board of directors with focus on external expertise

KT Corp. holds an ad-hoc shareholders meeting at KT Research and Development Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul on June 30. [Photo by Yonhap]

KT Corp. formed a new board of directors on Friday as it embarks on full-scale business normalization.

The company held an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting at the KT R&D Center in Seoul earlier in the day and appointed seven new independent directors.

The seven outside directors are Kwak Woo-young (former head of Hyundai Motor Company Vehicle IT Development Center), Kim Seong-cheol (current professor of Korea University Media and Communication School), Ahn Yeong-kyun (current board member of the IFAC), Yoon Jong-soo (former vice minister of Ministry of Environment), Lee Seung-hoon (current managing partner of KCGI’s global division), Cho Seung-ah (current professor at Seoul National University Business School), and Choi Yang-hee (current president of Hallym University).

Of them, Ahn Yeong-kyun, Lee Seung-hoon, and Cho Seung-ah were appointed as audit committee members, who will play a significant role in enhancing the transparency of KT’s board and protecting shareholders’ rights and interests.

Their terms will be until the date of the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for Kwak Woo-young, Kim Seong-cheol, and Lee Seung-hoon, and until the date of the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the remaining directors.

Together with KT Board Chairman Kim Yong-hun, the outside directors will form a new board and proceed with the process of selecting the next chief executive officer of KT. Currently, there is only one inside director, former CEO Ku Hyeon-mo, but he has no actual power.

The shareholders’ meeting also passed revised articles of incorporation regarding the procedure for appointing a CEO. In the CEO qualification requirements, the phrase “knowledge and experience in the ICT field” was removed, and instead, it was replaced by corporate management expertise, leadership, communication capabilities, and industry expertise.

The number of inside directors was reduced from three to two.

KT plans to select a new CEO through the new board of directors and complete the appointment of its leadership team in August.

The board will consider utilizing an advisory group for the selection and evaluation of internal and external CEO candidates. When selecting internal CEO candidates, the board will consider management expertise and understanding of KT’s business in addition to the existing requirements (2+ years of employment & vice president or above title in KT group position).