Life Summary
Hong Seok-joh is the chairman of BGF Group. He also serves as the chairman of BGF Retail.

He transitioned from prosecution to lead BGF Retail (formerly known as Bogwang Family Mart), focusing on expanding the CU convenience store business.

He entrusted the holding company to his eldest son, Hong Jeong-kook, who serves as the CEO of BGF, while his second son, Hong Jeong-hyuk, oversees new businesses as the CEO of BGF Eco Materials, establishing a foundation for succession.

Born on January 8, 1953, in Seoul as the son of Hong Jin-ki, former chairman of JoongAng Ilbo, he has an older brother Hong Seok-hyun, chairman of JoongAng Holdings, an older sister Hong Ra-hee, former director of the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum, and a brother-in-law Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics.

He graduated from Seoul National University's College of Law and Harvard University Graduate School in the United States. After passing the bar exam, he served as the head of planning at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, head of the Prosecution Department at the Ministry of Justice, and chief prosecutor at Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office.

Although he was once considered a candidate for Prosecutor General, he left the legal profession after being implicated in the 'An Gi-bu X-Files' case exposed by lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, accused of delivering bribes, concluding his career as chief prosecutor at Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office.

Moving to the CEO and chairman position at Bogwang Family Mart, he renamed the company to BGF Retail and rebranded it as CU, severing ties with Japan's FamilyMart.

By dividing BGF into BGF for investment and BGF Retail for business operations, he transitioned the group into a holding company structure.

Despite initial skepticism about his management capabilities due to his prosecutorial background, he elevated CU to a leading position in the industry.

His hands-on management style has earned him recognition as the most successful among the children of former chairman Hong Jin-ki in the field of business management.

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