Chung Ki-sun, stepping up from Senior Vice Chairman after two years, has been named Chairman of HD Hyundai Group. This move, announced in the company's 2025 executive reshuffle on October 17, brings an end to the 37-year professional management system that began after Chung Mong-joon (then Chairman of the Asan Foundation) stepped down in 1988. At 43, Chung becomes the youngest head of a top ten South Korean conglomerate, taking the reins of the nation's 8th largest business group. Kwon Oh-gap, who led the group since 2017, will transition to Honorary Chairman, a title not used since the late Chung Ju-yung.
Chung will concurrently serve as CEO of the holding company, HD Hyundai, and the intermediate holding company, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), overseeing overall group strategy and investment. He will also co-lead HD Hyundai XiteSolution, aiming to stabilize the construction equipment division and finalize the merger of HD Hyundai Construction Equipment and HD Hyundai Infracore.
Following his return to the group in late 2013, amid a severe crisis marked by a 3.27 trillion won operating loss in 2014, Chung was tasked with challenging restructuring, including non-core asset sales. His 'turnaround' success began in late 2016 as head of the Planning Office. Notably, he spun off the ship after-sales service and parts supply business to establish HD Hyundai Marine Solution, which now boasts a market capitalization of over 10 trillion won. He also spearheaded the 2021 acquisition of Doosan Infracore (now HD Hyundai Infracore). Under his influence, HD Hyundai Group's total market cap has increased sixfold, reaching nearly 139 trillion won as of October 16.
The new chairman’s immediate focus is business realignment within the core shipbuilding and construction equipment sectors. Beyond this, Chung is tasked with spearheading future growth engines, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), autonomous ships, and the "MASGA" (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project. He has engaged extensively with global leaders like Bill Gates of TerraPower on SMR-powered vessels and floating SMRs. The successful IPO of Avikus, the group's autonomous navigation solution company, also remains a key mandate. With the succession now formalized, the long-term challenge is to secure his controlling stake, currently 6.1%, as he prepares to inherit his father's (26.6%) shares while minimizing the dilution from inheritance taxes.
[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]
