KoreaWho - Biographical and news service about individuals who have a significant impact on the Korean economy

- CEO & Vice Chairman of Ahngook Pharmaceutical
  Auh Jin
  
  Auh Jin ("어진" in Korean) is Vice Chairman and CEO of Ahngook Pharmaceutical, sharing the leadership with co-CEO Park In-cheol. He is focused on enhancing the company’s drug development capabilities. Born on March 30, 1964, Auh Jin is the eldest son among two sons and three daughters of former Honorary Chairman Auh Jun-seon and Im Young-gyun. He graduated from Kyungseong High School in Seoul and earned a degree in economics from Korea University. He later completed an MBA program at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Auh began his career at Daishin Securities, then moved to Ahngook Pharmaceutical, the company founded by his father. There, he held roles including head of planning and director of general affairs before becoming CEO in 1998. In 2022, he stepped down from management after being indicted for charges involving rebates and illegal clinical trials. He later returned to the company as Vice Chairman and inside director, and in 2024, he was reinstated as CEO, taking charge of new business ventures. As a second-generation executive at Ahngook Pharmaceutical, he has worked at the company for more than 30 years, gaining extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Auh prefers focusing on internal operations rather than external activities and is committed to discovering new growth drivers and diversifying the company’s business portfolio. He served a prison sentence for charges related to illegal clinical trials and offering rebates and was released in October 2024. This has raised ongoing concerns about “owner risk” for the company. #AhngookPharmaceutical #AuhJin #KoreanPharmaceuticalIndustry #biotech #drugdevelopment #CEO #rebatelawsuit #illegaltrials #pharmaexecutive #ownerleadership
- CEO of Tovis
  Kim Yong-beom
  
  Kim Yong-beom is the CEO of Tovis. He was born on September 24, 1962. He graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Seoul. He began his career as a researcher at Daewoo Electronics and later served as a lead researcher in the development division and director of the video equipment business division at Hyunwoo MacPlus. In 1998, he founded Tovis. In 2006, he acquired Neodys. He has grown Tovis into the world's No. 1 company in the casino gaming monitor segment. Since 2020, he has been restructuring the business to expand into automotive displays. In response to demands for improved governance due to sluggish stock performance, he has consistently pursued shareholder-friendly policies such as buying back and retiring company shares. #KimYongbeom #Tovis #casino #gamingmonitor #automotivedisplay #electronics #KOSDAQ #shareholderpolicy #Neodys #Koreanentrepreneur
- Member of the National Assembly
  Park Jee-hye
  
  Park Jee-hye is a member of the National Assembly. She entered the National Assembly as the No. 1 recruited talent of the Democratic Party of Korea during the 22nd general election. She was born on October 31, 1978, in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. Park double-majored in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering and Business Administration at Seoul National University. She completed the master’s program in Environmental Planning at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies, and later earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Management and Policy from Lund University in Sweden. She also holds both a Master of Laws (J.D. equivalent) and a Doctor of Laws from Seoul National University School of Law. She worked as a senior researcher at Eco Frontier and as a CSR manager at SK Telecom. After passing the 6th bar exam, she served as a full-time lawyer at the Green Law Center, focusing on corporate social responsibility and environmental law. She also served as a board member of the nonprofit Climate Solutions and as co-representative of the nonprofit Plan 1.5. In the 2024 22nd general election, she ran as a candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea and was elected to represent the Uijeongbu A district. She has served on the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and the Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. Within just one year, she introduced 40 bills as a lead sponsor. Park is an expert in climate and environmental issues. She is committed to serving as a catalyst to turn public interest in climate challenges into effective policy. #ParkJeehye #KoreaPolitics #DemocraticParty #NationalAssembly #ClimatePolicy #EnvironmentalLaw #CSR #GreenLaw #Uijeongbu #2024Election
- CEO & President of Hitejinro and Hitejinro Holdings
  Kim In-gyu
  
  Kim In-gyu is the CEO and President of Hitejinro as well as the CEO and President of Hitejinro Holdings. Following the retirement of Hitejinro Chairman Park Mun-deok from the front lines of management, Kim is now effectively leading the company. He was born on November 16, 1962, in Seoul. Kim graduated from Paichai High School in Seoul, earned a degree in mathematics from Yonsei University, and completed an MBA program at Yonsei University's Graduate School of Business. He joined Hite Brewery in 1989 and worked his way up through key positions, including Head of Sales and Executive Vice President. In 2011, after the merger of Hite Brewery and Jinro, he was appointed CEO and President of Hitejinro in charge of overall sales operations. In 2017, he was also appointed CEO and President of Hitejinro Holdings, the group's holding company. Kim is a loyal “Hite man” who has accumulated over 30 years of experience across personnel management, planning, marketing, and sales—virtually every part of the business. He is actively promoting the globalization of "Jinro" with a focus on expanding into Southeast Asian markets. #Hitejinro #KimInGyu #ParkMundeok #Jinro #KoreanLiquor #SojuExports #SoutheastAsiaMarket #YonseiMBA #KoreanBusiness #LeadershipTransition
- Chairman of Korea Zinc
  Choi Yun-birm
  
  Choi Yun-birm ("최윤범" in Korean) is the chairman of Korea Zinc. He is making all-out efforts to defend against an attempted takeover of management rights by a coalition formed by MBK Partners and Youngpoong. He was born on March 17, 1975, the second son among two sons and one daughter of Choi Chang-gul, honorary chairman of Korea Zinc, and Yoo Jung-geun, former president of the Korean Red Cross. He majored in mathematics and English literature at Amherst College in the United States, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School. After working as a lawyer in New York, he joined Korea Zinc as director of the management support division at the Onsan Smelter. He began his career with the company at its local subsidiary in Peru for mining development and primarily worked at overseas subsidiaries, including a zinc smelter in Australia. He rose through the ranks to become co-CEO in 2019 and was appointed chairman in December 2022. As Korea Zinc holds the top position in the global non-ferrous metal smelting industry, he is driving future growth under the "Troika Drive" strategy, which focuses on three sectors: secondary battery materials, renewable energy, and resource recycling. #KoreaZinc #ChoiYunbirm #nonferrous #MBKPartners #Youngpoong #secondarybattery #renewableenergy #mining #smelting #troikadrive
  NEWS
  - • Did Choi Yoon-beom Defend Korea Zinc? Final Judgment Lies with the Court—and That Day Is Coming
  - • Korea Zinc Cancels Rights Offering, Choi Yoon-beom: "Stepping Down as Chairman, Apologies"
- CEO & President of Hana Card
  Sung Young-su
  
  Sung Young-su is the President and CEO of Hana Card. He is currently focusing on strengthening the corporate card segment, which has been showing growth, as well as the overseas card payment segment, represented by the brand "Travelog." He was born on June 7, 1965. After graduating from Jinju Dongmyung High School, he earned a degree in public administration from Korea University. He began his career at Commercial Bank of Korea (now Woori Bank), and later joined Hana Bank, where he served in various roles including corporate finance specialist, Namsan branch manager, head of the foreign exchange business division, head of the Gyeonggi business division, and head of the foreign exchange business group. In 2022, he was promoted to Vice President and Head of the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Group at Hana Bank. He subsequently served as Head of the Corporate Group and Head of the Corporate Digital Division. He concurrently held roles as Head of the Group CIB Division at Hana Financial Group and Head of the Investment Banking Group at Hana Securities, before being appointed President and CEO of Hana Card in January 2025. He is recognized as an expert in corporate finance and foreign exchange. #HanaCard #SungYoungsu #corporatefinance #foreignexchange #creditcardbusiness #Travelog #CIB #HanaFinancialGroup #executiveprofile #KoreaBankingIndustry
- CEO & President of SK Chemicals
  Ahn Jae-hyun
  
  Ahn Jae-hyun ("안재현" in Korean) is the President and CEO of SK Chemicals. He leads SK Chemicals jointly with CEO Kim Cheol. He is accelerating SK Chemicals’ transition toward “green chemicals.” He was born on February 2, 1966. He graduated from Yeouido High School in Seoul and studied Applied Statistics at Yonsei University. He later earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He began his career at Daewoo Group, where he headed the New York office of Daewoo Securities for four years until the firm was sold off during the IMF financial crisis. He later joined SK Group, where he served as project leader at the SK Restructuring Headquarters. In 2004, he was appointed CEO of SK D&D. He held key leadership roles in SK E&C (now SK Ecoplant), including Head of Global Marketing, and in SK Gas as Head of Management Support. He went on to serve as CEO of Global Biz, overseeing SK E&C’s overseas business. In 2019, he was appointed President and CEO of SK E&C and was reappointed to the position. In 2022, he became CEO of SK Discovery, and in 2023, he was appointed President and CEO of SK Chemicals. He is known for his bold personality and decisiveness. He is friendly and approachable with junior staff, even offering cigarettes in casual conversation. #SKChemicals #AhnJaehyun #greenchemicals #SKgroup #leadership #WhartonMBA #corporatereform #SKDiscovery #SKDND #SKecoplant
- CEO of KG Inicis
  Lee Sun-jae
  
  Lee Sun-jae (known as Jason Lee, "이선재" in Korean) is the CEO of KG Inicis. He is tightening his grip on KG Inicis’ push into the offline payments market, which is worth KRW 1,000 trillion (US$ 719.4 billion), as the company maintains its top position in the online payment gateway (PG) industry. He was born on October 3, 1973. He graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Hongik University. He began his career in business development at GeoMC, a company known for its MC Square device, and later worked as the business development manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at SK WiderThan UK, a mobile solution development subsidiary of SK Group. He also served as director of business development for the EMEA and North American regions at Insprit Co., Ltd., a mobile network solutions company. In 2010, he joined KG Inicis and led the global business division, overseeing the entire payment gateway (PG) business, including international operations. After serving as Chief Operating Officer (COO), he was appointed CEO and President of KG Inicis in March 2023. In 2024, he was recognized for effectively normalizing the company in a short period through appropriate risk management during the TMON incident. #KGInicis #LeeSunjae #paymentgateway #offlinepayments #fintech #TMON #riskmanagement #PGbusiness #KGecommerce #KoreanCEOs
- CEO & Founder of GI Inovation
  Jang Myung-ho
  
  Jang Myung-ho is the CEO of GI Innovation, jointly leading the company with co-CEO Hong Jun-ho. He was born on June 3, 1968. He studied biochemistry at Hanyang University, where he also earned a master’s degree in the same field. He then obtained a Ph.D. in immunology from the Graduate School of Osaka University in Japan. Jang served as a professor for eight years at the Immunology Frontier Research Center of Osaka University Medical School, a globally recognized institution in the field of immunology, becoming the first Korean to do so. After returning to South Korea, he worked as a senior researcher at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). He also served as a scientific advisor at Genexine and as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Progen. In 2017, he founded GI Innovation. He initially served as CSO until 2021 and returned as CEO in April 2025. Motivated by a belief in preventing “medical poverty,” he established a company focused on developing immuno-oncology treatments. He is now concentrating on improving the company’s performance through licensing-out achievements. #JangMyungHo #GIInnovation #immunology #biotechstartup #OsakaUniversity #immunotherapy #IBS #KoreanScientist #biopharma #oncology
- Ceo & Vice Chairman of HS Hyosung
  Cho Hyun-sang
  
  Cho Hyun-sang ("조현상" in Korean) is Vice Chairman and CEO of HS Hyosung. He also serves as an inside director of HS Hyosung Advanced Materials and HS Hyosung Information Systems. He was born on November 26, 1971, as the third son of former Hyosung Chairman Cho Suck-rae. He attended Gyeonggi Elementary School and Cheongun Middle School, graduated from Kyungbock High School, and then moved to the United States, where he earned a degree in economics from Brown University. He began his career at Bain & Company. After joining Hyosung, he worked in the restructuring TFT (Task Force Team) and management innovation team. He later joined Japan's NTT Communications, where he led wired and wireless strategy projects and took part in establishing the Korean branch. Cho then returned to Hyosung’s strategy division and served as head of the Industrial Materials PG (Performance Group) and CMO of the Chemical PG. After being promoted to president, he led the strategy division. When Hyosung was split into separate entities, he became a group-wide president. Following the division of Hyosung and HS Hyosung into a holding company structure, he was appointed CEO of HS Hyosung. He actively engages in international activities as a self-proclaimed civilian diplomat, representing Korean business leaders. He is leading the transformation of HS Hyosung’s business structure into fields such as artificial intelligence, secondary batteries, and semiconductor materials. He is known for being meticulous and detail-oriented. #ChoHyunsang #HSHyosung #Hyosung #semiconductors #AI #secondarybatteries #NTT #BrownUniversity #businessleadership #restructuring
  NEWS
  - • Why Is HS Hyosung Selling Its Tire Steel Cord Business? Cho Hyun-sang Bets on Carbon Fiber and Anode Materials

Types of Companies