KOREA WHO

Yoon Seok-keum is the chairman of Woongjin Group.

He has presented a new vision of transforming the group into a “total life care platform” by combining its education business with funeral services.

Yoon was born on December 20, 1945, in Yugu-myeon, Gongju-gun, South Chungcheong Province.

He graduated from Ganggyeong Commercial High School and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Konkuk University.

He began his career as a sales representative at the Korean branch of Encyclopaedia Britannica. After rising to managing director of the Korean branch, he left to establish Heim International, the predecessor of Woongjin ThinkBig, in 1980.

He entered the food and cosmetics businesses by acquiring Dongil Industrial (formerly Woongjin Foods) and Coreana Cosmetics. He later founded Korea Coway (formerly Woongjin Coway), launched Woongjin Group, and became its chairman.

He subsequently expanded the group's business portfolio by acquiring Kukdong Engineering & Construction and Saehan.

In 2012, Woongjin Group entered court receivership, forcing it to sell key affiliates including Woongjin Coway. After emerging from court receivership just one year and four months later, Yoon sought to rebuild the group and reacquired Coway.

However, the group's financial structure deteriorated due to excessive borrowing, leading Yoon to sell Coway once again in another dramatic turnaround.

In 2025, he acquired Preed Life (Woongjin Preed Life), positioning the group for another leap forward.

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