Concurrent Registered Directorships by Owner Families at 85 Major Conglomerates...Concerns Over Entrenched Family-Run Management

BS, SM, and Other Major Groups Lead the Rankings
Lee Joong-keun of Booyoung Holds Record with 16 Directorships

It has been revealed that in many of South Korea’s leading conglomerates, owner families are holding multiple registered director positions at affiliates, maintaining a bloodline-centered governance structure. There are growing concerns that as the owners, immediate family members, and relatives serve on the boards of multiple affiliates, so-called “family-run management” is being entrenched under the pretense of responsible management.

According to a survey conducted on August 5 by CEOScore, a corporate data research institute, examining the registration status of owners and their families as registered directors at affiliates of 89 publicly announced business groups, it was found that 407 members of owner families from 85 groups are currently serving as registered directors or similar roles at their affiliates.

Current Status of Family Owners Registered as Executive Directors in Affiliates of 89 Publicly Disclosed Corporate Groups. The CEO Score

By group, BS Group had the highest number of registrations with 46 affiliates, followed by SM Group (45), GS Group (34), Booyoung Group (31), KG Group (27), Nongshim Group (26), Line Group and Sajo Group (24 each), Youngpoong Group (23), and KCC Group (22).

On an individual basis, Lee Joong-keun, Chairman of Booyoung Group, held the highest number of concurrent director positions among all business tycoons, serving as a registered director at 16 out of 21 affiliates (76.2%). Kwon Oh-il, Chairman of Daemyung Chemical Group—newly designated this year—ranked second, participating in the board of directors at 15 affiliates. Among the spouses of the group leaders, Oh Jeong-hwa, Chairperson of the Line Cultural Foundation and wife of Line Group Chairman Gong Byeong-hak, held concurrent positions at eight affiliates, placing her among the top ranks as well.

Active participation of the next generation in management, including holding registered director positions concurrently, is also becoming more common. Unlike in the past, when the principle of succession to the eldest son was prevalent, more eldest daughters are now entering boards of directors. Lee Seo-jeong, the eldest daughter of Chairman Lee Joong-keun and Director at Booyoung, serves as a registered director at 13 affiliates—the highest among the next generation. Other eldest daughters, such as Seo Kyung-seon, Director at Sono International; Kwak Hye-eun, Vice President of KG Group; and Lee Min-kyung, Director at Wonik, all hold registered director positions at seven affiliates each.

A look at changes over the past three years shows significant increases in the number of registered directorships following the return of certain owners to management. After his comeback, Chairman Lee Joong-keun’s number of concurrent directorships soared to 16 affiliates, while his daughter, Director Lee Seo-jeong, also increased hers by five. In contrast, for SM Group, which once ranked highest in concurrent directorships, the owner family—including CEO Park Heung-jun of Kukil Paper, Chairman Woo Oh-hyun, and their children—all saw their number of concurrent posts decrease, indicating a trend toward adjustment.

Meanwhile, among the groups surveyed, 24—including Samsung, Hanwha, HD Hyundai, Shinsegae, CJ, DL, Mirae Asset, Hankook & Company, DB, and Kolon—had no case in which the owner of the group held a registered director position at an affiliate. Furthermore, in four groups—DL, Mirae Asset, Taekwang, and E-Land—not a single member of the owner family was registered as a director. However, in some groups where the owner is not registered as a director—such as Hanwha, HD Hyundai, DB, and Kolon—the eldest sons of the owners, including Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, and Jeong Ki-seon, Chairman of HD Hyundai, are analyzed to be actively participating in key affiliates as registered directors, effectively engaging in management.

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