Jo Jwajin, Former Lotte Card CEO, Appointed as New Hanatour CEO... Introduction of Executive Officer System and Strengthened Responsible Management

Launching Three Pillars of Growth: Premium, Inbound, and AI Innovation
Full-Scale Implementation of "Hanatour Chapter 2"

Hanatour announced on July 7 that it has appointed Jo Jwajin, former CEO of Lotte Card, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Jo is scheduled to be officially appointed following an extraordinary general shareholders' meeting on August 18. Alongside this, Hanatour will introduce an executive officer system to strengthen the board’s strategic decision-making and supervisory functions, as well as to clearly delineate the responsibilities and authority of management, thereby establishing a more efficient management structure.

Jo Jwajin, appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hanatour.

Hanatour explained that this decision is more than just a leadership change; it is a proactive response to the rapidly changing travel industry environment in the aftermath of COVID-19, and it marks the full-scale implementation of Hanatour’s future growth strategy, "Hanatour Chapter 2."

Jo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics and is a professional executive with approximately 35 years of extensive experience in strategy, marketing, and management. He previously worked at A.T. Kearney and Monitor Group before serving as the founding Managing Director of Oliver Wyman’s Seoul office. He also held key leadership positions at Hyundai Card, Hyundai Capital, and Hyundai Commercial, serving as head of strategy and finance as well as head of marketing. He later became CEO of Hyundai Capital America and CEO of Lotte Card.

During his tenure as CEO of Lotte Card, Jo strengthened profitability and growth foundations by restructuring the asset portfolio and innovating the cost structure. He also enhanced digital competitiveness by implementing the data-driven digital strategy "Digi-LOCA." At Hyundai Card, he led the launch of Alphabet Marketing and "Hyundai Card Black," demonstrating his capability in establishing premium brands and designing differentiated customer experiences. Furthermore, as CEO of Hyundai Capital America, he led the U.S. operations and spearheaded expansions into Canada and Brazil, gaining global business management experience.

A Hanatour representative stated, "Jo is an executive who has driven innovation and growth across various industries based on his strategic mindset and strong execution, making him the right person to establish a new growth foundation for Hanatour as the travel industry rapidly restructures." The representative added, "Hanatour Chapter 2 is not about rejecting our existing business; rather, it is a growth project to reconnect and further develop Hanatour’s unique competitive strengths, accumulated over the past 30 years, in a more customer-centric way, thus taking our future competitiveness to the next level."

Looking ahead, Hanatour plans to pursue a mid- to long-term strategy focused on three main growth pillars: expanding the premium travel market, nurturing the inbound travel business, and driving AI-powered digital innovation.

In the premium travel market, the company will focus on offering differentiated experiences tailored to customer preferences and travel purposes, prioritizing these over price competition, and will expand customer experiences to cover the entire travel process, before and after trips. For the inbound business, Hanatour aims to leverage the spread of K-culture as a new growth opportunity, expanding differentiated travel services for visitors to Korea, especially targeting Japan and Southeast Asia, and positioning Hanatour as the leading travel platform in Korea. In addition, by driving digital innovation based on AI and data, the company plans to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen competitiveness across consulting, product planning, and marketing, ultimately building a business structure that secures both growth and profitability.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.