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

- CEO of APR
  Kim Byung-hoon
  
  Kim Byung-hoon is the CEO of APR. He is focusing on expanding production capacity for beauty devices while also dedicating efforts to entering overseas markets. He was born on November 5, 1988, in Seoul. He studied Business Administration at Yonsei University. While in college, he launched a virtual fitting service ‘Ifida’ and a dating matchmaking application ‘Gilhana Sai.’ In 2014, at the young age of 25, he founded the cosmetics company Inno Ventures together with former co-CEO Lee Joo-kwang, and in the same year changed the company name to Apskin. After renaming the company again to APR, he transitioned to a sole CEO system in 2019. He has a ‘workaholic’ tendency. He believes that he must do what he wants to do and always keeps his word once he has spoken it. #APR #KimByungHoon #beautydevices #Kbeauty #CEOprofile #startupfounder #globalexpansion #YonseiUniversity #entrepreneurship #cosmeticsindustry
  NEWS
  - • APR's Early Success in Chinese Market with Beauty Devices, Kim Byung-hoon's 'Global Roadmap' Green Light
- CEO of LG Chem
  Kim Dong-chun
  
  Kim Dong-chun is the CEO of LG Chem. He is striving to overcome the industry crisis by restructuring naphtha cracking center (NCC) operations and reorganizing the business portfolio to strengthen specialty businesses. He was born in January 1968. He graduated from Jeju National University High School Affiliated to the College of Education and the Department of Industrial Chemistry at Hanyang University. He completed an MBA program at the University of Washington Graduate School of Business. He joined LG Chem and worked in management strategy and new business development. After a brief period in the LG Synergy Team, he returned to LG Chem as head of the High-Performance Materials Business Division. He served as executive director in charge of the semiconductor materials business, executive vice president of the IT Materials Business Division, and executive vice president of the Electronic Materials Business Division, before being promoted to vice president and head of the Advanced Materials Business Division. In 2025, he was appointed CEO of LG Chem. #LGchem #petrochemical #NCC #specialtymaterials #businessstrategy #corporaterestructuring #advancedmaterials #semiconductormaterials #Koreanceo #chemicalindustry
- Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs
  Kwon Oh-eul
  
  Kwon Oh-eul is the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. As the first Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs under the Lee Jae-myung government, he is working to uphold the value of veterans affairs and promote national unity. He was born on March 17, 1957, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. He graduated from Andong Elementary School, Andong Middle School, and Gyeongbuk High School. He graduated from Korea University with a degree in political science and diplomacy and earned a master's degree in economics from the Korea University Graduate School. He worked as a researcher at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, then served as a member of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council before going on to serve as a member of the 15th, 16th, and 17th National Assembly. He also served as Secretary General of the National Assembly and worked as a visiting and guest professor at Daegu Catholic University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Shinhan University. He took office as Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in July 2025. Note: In the original text, "권오을Kwon Oh-eul은" appears to be attached without a space between the Korean name and the English name. It would read more naturally as "권오을(Kwon Oh-eul)은" or "권오을은". #KwonOhEul #PatriotsandVeteransAffairs #LeeJaeMyung #SouthKoreaPolitics #NationalUnity #Andong #KoreaUniversity #NationalAssembly #VeteransPolicy #SouthKoreaGovernment
- Chairman and CEO of Hanil Holdings
  Huh Gi-ho
  
  Huh Gi-ho is the Chairman and CEO of Hanil Holdings. He also serves as Chairman of Hanil Cement. He is focusing on defending performance deterioration caused by the prolonged downturn in the construction industry and on transforming the cement business into a “low-carbon management” system. He was born on November 15, 1966, in Seoul as the eldest son among three sons of Huh Jung-sup, Honorary Chairman of Hanil Cement. He graduated from Seoul Seongnam High School and the Department of Economics at Sungkyunkwan University. He completed his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University in the United States. He joined Hanil Cement and, after serving as Head of the Management Division and Head of the Corporate Planning Office, became CEO of Hanil Cement in 2005. After the transition to a holding company system, he became Chairman and CEO of Hanil Holdings. Following the acquisition of Hyundai Cement, he completed eight years of integration to establish a “single Hanil” system and led the company to become No. 1 in domestic market share in Korea’s cement industry. #HanilHoldings #HanilCement #HuhGiho #cementindustry #lowcarbonstrategy #constructiondownturn #Koreabusiness #CEOprofile #corporatestrategy #industrialleadership
  NEWS
  - • Hanil Cement Eyes Value-Up Policy: Huh Gi-ho Prioritizes Returns and Green Investments
- President and CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries
  Kim Jong-chul
  
  Kim Jong-chul is President and CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). He is tasked with ending an eight-month management vacuum and pursuing organizational renewal and the discovery of new growth engines. He was born in January 1962. He graduated as a member of the 31st class of the Air Force Academy. He worked in the Air Force, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. After retiring from the military, he joined the Defense Acquisition Program Administration through a special recruitment process when the agency was launched, and served as director general for planning and coordination, director general of the Defense Technology Security Bureau, and head of the Unmanned Business Division. After serving as a professor in the Department of Defense Technology Management at Kwangwoon University, he was recruited in March 2026 as President and CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries. He is a hands-on leader with broad experience in air power, defense exports, and unmanned systems, built through his career in the military, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. He needs visible management results that can put to rest the controversy raised over the appointment process and his qualifications to lead the company. #KAI #KimJongchul #KoreaAerospaceIndustries #defenseindustry #aerospace #AirForce #DefenseAcquisitionProgramAdministration #defenseexports #unmannedsystems #corporateleadership
- CEO of NC
  Kim Taek-jin
  
  Kim Taek-jin is the CEO of NC. He was born on March 14, 1967, in Seoul. He graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Seoul National University. He received a master’s degree in electronic engineering from Seoul National University’s graduate school and later dropped out of the doctoral program. After co-developing “Hangul Word Processor (Arae-a Hangeul),” he founded Hangul & Computer (Hanme Soft). He fulfilled his alternative military service at Hyundai Electronics’ Boston R&D Center and worked as a development team leader at Hyundai Electronics. In 1997, he founded NCSoft and achieved great success with the Lineage series. However, as he failed to produce another major hit and showed weak performance in new IP and new business ventures, he recruited co-CEO Park Byung-moo and is pushing forward with restructuring. He is known for being frugal and modest, but in business, he shows a strong competitive spirit. NCSoft changed its company name to NC following a shareholders’ meeting in March 2026. #KimTaekjin #NCSoft #Lineage #Koreangameindustry #GameCEO #Entrepreneurship #Techleadership #Gaminghistory #Businessstrategy #Restructuring
  NEWS
  - • Kim Taek-jin’s Bold Global Bet: Aion 2 and LLL Return
  - • Where Is the “Basic” NCSoft Wants to Return To? We Miss the Kim Taek-jin Who Once Tried to Acquire EA
- CEO of Samsung Card
  Kim Yi-Tae
  
  Kim Yi-tae is the CEO of Samsung Card. He is focusing on strengthening Samsung Card’s digital capabilities and discovering new growth drivers for the future. He was born on February 22, 1966, in Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do. He graduated from Masan Gyeongsang High School and Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration. He received a master’s degree in Business Administration from Seoul National University Graduate School and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He began his public service career at the Ministry of Finance after passing the 36th Higher Civil Service Examination. He later worked as Director of the Sovereign Wealth Management Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and served as an advisor in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He moved to Samsung Electronics, where he held positions as Executive in charge of the IR Group, Head of the Strategy Group, Head of the Global Communications Group, and Head of the External Affairs Team. In 2023, he was appointed CEO of Samsung Venture Investment. After becoming President of Samsung Card in November 2024, he was appointed CEO of Samsung Card in March 2025. He is known for his quick ability to learn and for having many ideas. #SamsungCard #KimYiTae #Samsung #CEO #Finance #DigitalTransformation #CorporateLeadership #IMF #SamsungElectronics #VentureInvestment
- Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (Saemaul Geumgo)
  Kim In
  
  Kim In is the Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (Saemaul Geumgo). He is focusing on normalizing insolvent project financing (PF) business sites and improving the financial structure of Saemaul Geumgo. He was born on November 6, 1952. He graduated from Kyungbok High School in Seoul and the College of Education at Seoul National University. He served as Chairman of Namdaemun Market Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Namdaemun Saemaul Geumgo. After serving as Vice Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea, he took on the role of Acting Chairman. Following the resignation of former Chairman Park Cha-hoon, he was elected in a by-election and assumed the position of Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea in December 2023. He was re-elected in the December 2025 election. He is focusing on restoring the fundamental values of cooperatives and strengthening the role of social solidarity finance. #SaemaulGeumgo #KimIn #KoreaFinance #CooperativeFinance #PFcrisis #FinancialReform #CreditUnion #SocialFinance #KoreaEconomy #Leadership
  NEWS
  - • Will KFCC Chairman Kim In Seek Reappointment? Key Lies in Profitability Recovery and Ties with Interior Ministry
- Vice Chairman and CEO of Lotte Hi-Mart
  Nam Chang-hee
  
  Nam Chang-hee is Vice Chairman and CEO of Lotte Hi-Mart. He also serves as Chairman of the Board. He is focusing on improving the company’s structure to overcome the downturn in the home appliance retail industry. He was born on October 30, 1966. He graduated from Seoul Hwagok High School and the Department of German Language and Literature at Hanyang University. After joining Lotte Mart, he worked as head of the advertising and promotion team, managing director of the home appliance team, and head of the marketing office. After being promoted to an executive position, he held all major key posts in Lotte Shopping’s Mart Division (Lotte Mart), including head of the merchandise division, head of the marketing division, head of the merchandise headquarters, head of the marketing headquarters, head of the MD headquarters, and head of the customer headquarters. In December 2019, he was appointed as head of Lotte Shopping’s Super Division (CEO of Lotte Super) as a turnaround specialist and focused on improving the company’s structure. At the time, it drew attention that he was the only “Lotte Man” among the heads of Lotte Shopping’s various business divisions. At the end of 2022, he was appointed CEO of Lotte Hi-Mart. He is putting effort into transforming the business structure from one centered on home appliance sales to one focused on home appliance care services. He is also working to strengthen private brands to improve profitability. #LotteHiMart #NamChanghee #LotteGroup #RetailStrategy #ApplianceIndustry #BusinessTransformation #PrivateBrand #CEOProfile #KoreaBusiness #RetailInnovation
- CEO of SD Biosensor
  Lee Hyo-keun
  
  Lee Hyo-keun is the CEO of SD Biosensor. He is focusing his capabilities on building distribution networks in North America. He is also accelerating efforts to improve the company’s business structure by localizing global production bases and expanding non-COVID product lines. He was born on October 12, 1963, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. He graduated from Yushin High School in Gyeonggi and earned a degree in chemical engineering from Ajou University. He worked at Yuhan Cyanamid for 10 years. He later moved to SD (now Abbott Diagnostics Korea), where he served as executive vice president in charge of the glucose business division. In 2010, he was appointed CEO of SD Biosensor. He is an expert in the in vitro diagnostics field. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he increased SD Biosensor’s revenue to nearly KRW 3 trillion (US$ 2.2 billion) by expanding the company’s share in overseas markets. #SDBiosensor #LeeHyoKeun #diagnostics #COVID19 #globalexpansion #NorthAmerica #biotech #healthcare #IVD #KoreaBusiness

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