Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin has picked Kim Hong-keuk, chief executive of Shinsegae Casa, to lead E-Mart alongside him as Chung takes direct control of the discount store chain as its chief executive. The group also replaced key posts at its Management Strategy Office, the group's control tower, in a push to overhaul the organization.
Shinsegae Group announced the regular executive reshuffle for 2027 on the 23rd. It is the first regular reshuffle since Chung was named chief executive of E-Mart. The group said Chung, who has pledged accountable management, selected partners to drive change and innovation at the group based on a single criterion — competence.
Chung, who became chief executive of Shinsegae Property in June, will also formally take office as E-Mart's chief executive after a shareholders meeting. He will run E-Mart under a co-CEO structure with Kim and Shinsegae Property with co-CEO Lee Hyung-cheon.
Kim, who will serve concurrently as chief executive of E-Mart and SSG.com, is a merchandising and sales specialist whose previous roles include head of E-Mart's home appliances and culture division and head of its merchandising division. The company said Kim led a turnaround to profit during his tenure as chief executive of Shinsegae TV Shopping and contributed to improving profitability at Shinsegae Casa from 2022. The group plans to strengthen both its online and offline operations based on Kim's merchandising and sales expertise and his risk management capabilities.
The Management Strategy Office also filled key posts. Choi Taek-won, chief executive of SSG.com, was named head of management support, overseeing human resources and auditing, while Park Seung-hak, head of the leisure business division at Josun Hotels & Resorts, was named head of external affairs, in charge of public relations and government relations. Jun Sang-jin, vice president for overall management, was retained.
The group is also pursuing business expansion by recruiting outside professionals. It brought in Heo Min-ho, a former chief executive of CJ Olive Young, as chief executive of Shinsegae Casa. Heo will push to expand the Casamia and JAJU businesses while also taking charge of the cosmetics division at Shinsegae International. Shinsegae International is introducing a system of separate professional management for its fashion and cosmetics divisions, with the fashion division to be led by current chief executive Kim Duk-joo.
The group also pushed ahead with a generational shift. The number of executives newly promoted came to 36, a record high. Executives in their 40s accounted for 18% of all group executives, also a record. The group said it pursued both stability and change by retaining the heads of major affiliates that delivered results while actively promoting younger executives.
Shinsegae Group plans to continue overhauling the organization through ad hoc appointments even after this reshuffle. A company official said Chung has concluded that he should exercise leadership directly to drive change at the group during a period of sweeping industrial transformation centered on artificial intelligence, adding that the group will maximize the competitiveness of its core businesses by identifying talent based on performance and will also produce results in future growth businesses.