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

- CEO of Daewoo E&C
  Lee Kang-Seok
  
  Lee Kang-Seok is executive vice president and CEO of Daewoo E&C. He was born in Seoul in 1971. He graduated from Daeshin High School in Seoul and Incheon National University with a degree in industrial engineering. After joining Daewoo E&C, he worked at the Ahyeon District 3 redevelopment site and in the General Affairs Team. After serving as managing director and head of the Management Support Office, he served as head of the Public Support Group and the External Cooperation Group. Following former CEO Kim Bo-hyun’s resignation in August 2026, he was promoted two ranks to executive vice president and appointed CEO of Daewoo E&C. He led the mergers and acquisitions task force (TF) when Jungheung Group acquired Daewoo E&C. #LeeKangSeok #DaewooEandC #ChiefExecutiveOfficer #ExecutiveVicePresident #ConstructionLeadership #IncheonNationalUniversity #IndustrialEngineering #ExternalCooperation #JungheungGroup #MergersAndAcquisitions
- President and CEO of GS Global
  Kim Sung-won
  
  Kim Sung-won is president and CEO of GS Global. He is focusing on transforming GS Global from a trading company into a “total solution provider.” He is also interested in targeting the U.S. energy and infrastructure markets, as well as food and solar panel recycling businesses. He was born in Busan on March 13, 1970. He graduated from Baejeong High School in Busan and Seoul National University’s College of Law with a degree in public law. After passing the higher civil service examination, he entered public service as a deputy director at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the predecessor of the current industry ministry, and worked as an industry ministry official for 15 years. He joined the private sector as a team leader in POSCO’s Corporate Planning Office. He subsequently moved to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, where he served as vice president of power generation sales, senior vice president overseeing domestic marketing, and executive vice president in the Marketing Division. After joining GS Group as head of GS Energy’s Energy Resources Business Division, he was appointed CEO of GS E&R in 2025. He was selected as CEO of GS Global in 2026. #KimSungWon #GSGlobal #PresidentAndCEO #TotalSolutionProvider #EnergyIndustry #PowerGeneration #USEnergyMarket #Infrastructure #FoodBusiness #SolarPanelRecycling
- President and CEO of LS MnM
  Koo Dong-Whi
  
  Koo Dong-Whi is president and CEO of LS MnM. He was born on September 28, 1982, as the second of three children—one son and two daughters—of Koo Ja-yeol, chairman of the board of LS. He graduated from Gujeong High School (now Apgujeong High School) in Seoul and Centenary University in the United States. He began his career in the Investment Banking Division of Woori Investment & Securities. He joined LS Group as a deputy general manager in the Corporate Strategy Office of LS Industrial Systems (now LS ELECTRIC). He subsequently worked on the production planning team at its Cheongju plant. He served as head of the Domestic Power Business Division with the rank of executive director and as head of the Industrial Automation Business Division in China with the rank of senior vice president. After serving as head of LS’s Value Management Division, he was promoted to executive vice president and moved to E1, where he served as chief operating officer and head of the Support Division before being appointed CEO in 2021. He returned to LS ELECTRIC as senior executive vice president in charge of vision management before becoming CEO. He moved to LS MnM, where he served as senior executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) before being appointed CEO. He also serves concurrently as an inside director of E1 and LS Networks. He is focused on strengthening the competitiveness of the existing smelting business and establishing the battery materials business. #KooDongWhi #LSMnM #LSGroup #CEO #ExecutiveBiography #LSELECTRIC #E1 #CopperSmelting #BatteryMaterials #BusinessLeadership
- CEO of Xi S&D
  Koo Bon-sam
  
  Koo Bon-sam is CEO of Xi S&D. He was born in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, on October 20, 1968. He graduated from Daegu High School and Korea University with a degree in business administration. He joined GS E&C and served as head of its Management Innovation Team and as senior manager responsible for its environmental business. He oversaw supply chain management, purchasing and procurement as managing director in charge of purchasing and head of the Procurement Division. He was appointed CEO of Xi S&D in 2025. Within a year of taking office, he lowered the cost-of-sales ratio by 4 percentage points from the previous year. He emphasizes selective order-taking and quality competitiveness over expansion in scale. He is focusing on identifying new businesses, including data centers and senior care.
- President and CEO of NH Investment & Securities
  Bae Kwang-soo
  
  Bae Kwang-soo is president and CEO of NH Investment & Securities. He was born on January 21, 1972. He graduated from Pohang High School in North Gyeongsang Province and Kyung Hee University with a degree in accounting. He joined LG Investment & Securities, the predecessor of NH Investment & Securities, and worked on the Management Planning Team and the IB Planning Team. After LG Investment & Securities was incorporated into Woori Financial Group, he served as a relationship manager (RM) in the Heavy Industry Department of Woori Investment & Securities. After Woori Investment & Securities was acquired by Nonghyup Financial Group, he worked as head of the Technology Industry Department at NH Investment & Securities. After spending 17 years in investment banking, including serving as head of Industry 3 at the assistant managing director level, he moved into wealth management (WM) as head of Premier Blue at the managing director level and later became head of the WM Business Division. In June 2026, he was appointed co-CEO of NH Investment & Securities. He oversees the WM, digital, channel, research and financial consumer protection businesses. #BaeKwangsoo #NHInvestmentSecurities #LGInvestmentSecurities #WooriInvestmentSecurities #InvestmentBanking #WealthManagement #PremierBlue #KyungHeeUniversity #FinancialExecutive #CapitalMarkets
- Chairman and CEO-designate of KB Financial Group
  Lee Jae-keun
  
  Lee Jae-keun is chairman and CEO-designate of KB Financial Group. He is set to succeed chairman Yang Jong-hee as leader of KB Financial Group. Amid a rapidly changing financial environment, he is expected to focus on strengthening KB Financial Group's position as Korea's leading financial group and securing new growth drivers in AI and global business to raise its standing in domestic and international financial markets. He was born in Seoul on May 27, 1966. He graduated from Seoul High School and Sogang University with a degree in mathematics. He earned a master's degree in financial economics from Sogang University's Graduate School of Economics and a master's degree in financial engineering from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). He joined Housing and Commercial Bank, a predecessor of Kookmin Bank, and served as chief of staff of KB Financial Group and manager of Kookmin Bank's Pangyo Techno Valley branch after Housing and Commercial Bank merged with Kookmin Bank. He worked as managing director in charge of finance at KB Financial Group. After returning to Kookmin Bank, he served as senior managing director and head of the Management Planning Group and as deputy president in charge of the Sales Group before being appointed president of Kookmin Bank in 2022. He was reappointed and led the bank until the end of 2024. After completing his term, he moved to KB Financial Group as head of the Global Business Division and also headed the Wealth Management (WM) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Division. In September 2026, he was selected as the final nominee for the next chairman of KB Financial Group. He emphasizes execution. He has a sharp understanding of markets and makes decisions quickly. #LeeJaeKeun #KBFinancialGroup #ChairmanDesignate #KookminBank #BankingLeadership #GlobalBanking #FinancialStrategy #ArtificialIntelligence #SogangUniversity #KAIST
  NEWS
  - • Long-Term Plan for Normalizing KB Kookmin Bank’s Indonesian Unit; Lee Jae-keun Endures a Testing Period
  - • KB Kookmin Bank Defends Hong Kong ELS Crisis, Boosts Lee Jae-keun's Reappointment Prospects
- CEO of H&L Advanced
  Cho Nam-soo
  
  Cho Nam-soo is CEO of H&L Advanced. As HD Hyundai’s representative at its joint venture with OCI, he is expected to focus on restoring the performance of the company launched as the first petrochemical business restructuring project. He was born on July 22, 1970. He graduated from Sogang University with a degree in chemical engineering and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology). He joined Hyundai Oil Refinery, now HD Hyundai Oilbank, where he worked in catalyst research and planning. He worked as an executive in charge of production planning at Hyundai Chemical, now H&L Advanced, a joint venture between HD Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical. In 2023, he was appointed CEO of HD Hyundai OCI, a joint venture between HD Hyundai Oilbank and OCI. He returned to HD Hyundai Chemical to lead its Management Innovation Task Force and has served as CEO since November 2025. In September 2026, he was appointed CEO of H&L Advanced, the company renamed after HD Hyundai Chemical absorbed Lotte Daesan Petrochemical. He leads the company alongside fellow CEO Chun Yang-sik, who represents Lotte Chemical.
- Chairman of Kwangwoon Foundation (Kwangwoon University)
  Cho Sun-young
  
  Cho Sun-young is chairman of Kwangwoon Foundation, the educational foundation that operates Kwangwoon University. She was born in 1978 as the eldest daughter of former Kwangwoon Foundation chairman Cho Mu-sung. She is a granddaughter of former chairman Cho Kwang-woon, the founder of Kwangwoon Foundation and Kwangwoon University. She graduated from Crossroads High School in the United States and Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in economics and business administration. She earned a master's degree in policy economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed doctoral coursework in organization theory at Yonsei University's Graduate School of Business. She worked at Yonsei University's Institute of Business Research before joining KPMG. She joined Kwangwoon Foundation as deputy head of its policy office and subsequently served as an executive director. She became chairman in 2018 after former chairman Shin Cheol-sik resigned before completing his term. #ChoSunYoung #KwangwoonFoundation #KwangwoonUniversity #FoundationChairman #EducationLeadership #CarnegieMellonUniversity #UniversityOfIllinois #YonseiUniversity #KPMG #ThirdGenerationLeadership
- Chairman of the Board, Dankook University Foundation
  Chang Ho-sung
  
  Chang Ho-sung is chairman of the board of the Dankook University Foundation, which operates Dankook University. With the university approaching its 80th anniversary, he is focusing on AI transformation (AX) across education, research and administration. He was born in Seoul on March 28, 1955, to Chang Chung-sik, former chairman of the Dankook University Foundation. He graduated from Kyunggi High School in Seoul and Sogang University with a degree in electronic engineering. He earned master's and doctoral degrees in electronic engineering from Oregon State University in the United States. He worked as a professor in the Division of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Hanyang University. After moving to Dankook University, he served as vice president for planning and vice president of the Cheonan Campus before becoming president in 2008. He became chairman of the Dankook University Foundation in 2020. With a strong interest in university sports, he has served as head of the Korean delegation to the Universiade and chairman of the Korea University Sports Board. He also served as president of the Korean Council for University Education.
- Director of the Office of National Security (ONS)
  Wi Sung-lac
  
  Wi Sung-lac is the inaugural director of the Office of National Security (ONS) and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC) under the Lee Jae-myung government. He was born in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, on September 14, 1954, according to the lunar calendar. He graduated from Namsung High School in North Jeolla Province and Seoul National University with a degree in diplomacy. He earned a master's degree in diplomacy from the Graduate School of Seoul National University and a doctorate in international politics from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He entered public service after passing the 13th Foreign Service Examination and worked as first secretary at the Korean missions in Geneva and Russia and as director of the Eastern Europe Division. After serving as an administrative officer in the Office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security under the Kim Young-sam government, he worked as a counselor at the Korean Embassy in the United States and as director-general for North American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After serving as policy coordinator at the Policy Coordination Office of the National Security Council and as minister for political affairs at the Korean Embassy in the United States, he was appointed in 2009 as special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs and concurrently served as South Korea's chief negotiator to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. After leaving public service following his tenure as ambassador to Russia in 2011, he served as a visiting professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of his alma mater, Seoul National University. He entered politics by serving as chairman of the Pragmatic Diplomacy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea's 20th Presidential Election Central Campaign Committee and as secretary-general of the Korea Peace Foundation. He was elected to the 22nd National Assembly through proportional representation and served on the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Intelligence Committee. In the 21st presidential election, he oversaw candidate Lee Jae-myung's “pragmatic diplomacy” strategy as his foreign affairs and security adviser. In June 2025, he was appointed the first director of the Office of National Security, a minister-level post, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council under the Lee Jae-myung government. He is regarded as President Lee Jae-myung's “foreign affairs and security strategist” and as a leading expert on North America, the North Korean nuclear issue and Russia. He is a calm and cautious strategist who pushes through principles once established with conviction and determination. #WiSunglac #LeeJaemyung #OfficeOfNationalSecurity #CareerDiplomat #NorthKorea #Russia #SixPartyTalks #SeoulNationalUniversity #NationalSecurity #ForeignPolicy

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