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구조조정 압박에 시달리는 동부그룹이 관련 사업에 경험이나 전문 지식이 전혀 없는 데다가 과거 도덕성 논란까지 있었던 전직 국회의원을 회장단에 전격 영입함에 따라 의아한 눈길을 받고 있다.
하루 빨리 자산을 과감히 처분해서 부채 비율을 줄여야 할 상황에, 전직 의원을 통해서 사태를 정치적으로 해결하려고 든다는 의심 또한 피할 수 없게 되었다.
동부그룹은 전직 4선 의원이자 새누리당 사무총장을 역임한 최연희를 건설 디벨로퍼 및 농업 바이오 분야의 회장으로 임명한다고 7일 밝혔다. 이에 따라 최 전 의원은 김준기 동부그룹 회장, 그리고 지난해 동부하이텍 대표이사 및 회장으로 임명된 오명 회장과 함께 3두 체제를 이루게 된다.
하지만 전자공학을 전공하고 교통부 및 과학기술부 장관을 역임한 오회장과는 달리, 최 신임 회장은 관련 전문 지식도 없고 사업 경험도 전무해서 그의 향후 리더십에 대한 우려가 제기되고 있다.
형법을 전공하고 법조계와 입법부에만 몸을 담아본 그가 동부그룹의 요직을 맡게 된 배후에는, 오랜 친구인 김준기 회장의 입김 탓이라는 공공연한 소문도 있다. 44년생 동갑내기인 두 사람은 강원도 동해시 출신에 속내를 터놓는 가까운 친구로 알려져 있다.
그룹에서는 채권단의 구조조정 독촉이 심해짐에 따라 김회장이 철강 산업에 집중하기 위해서 기존의 독점적 권력 구조를 분산한 것이라는 것이라고 해명했다. 현재 그의 최우선 과제는 포스코와 매각 논의 중인 동부제철 인천공장 건을 무사히 마무리하는 것이다.
하지만 이렇게 궁지에 몰린 동부그룹에 사업 경험이 전무하고 건설 농업 분야의 문외한인 최 신임 회장이 과연 무슨 도움이 되겠냐는 회의적인 시각이 지배적이다.
게다가 최 회장은 2006년 새누리당 사무총장 재직 시절 당시에 여기자 성추행 사건으로 결국 총장직에서 사퇴하고 당적도 탈퇴한 오명이 있어서 더욱 동부그룹에는 악수라는 우려도 함께 제기되고 있다.
(코리아헤럴드 배현정 기자)
<관련 영문 기사>
Dongbu Group‘s pick of ex-lawmaker leaves question mark
It is understandable that Dongbu Group, amid rising pressure for restructuring, may want to recruit fresh figures for a change but the appearance of a former senior lawmaker is nevertheless abrupt, especially when he is an outlander in the corresponding business.
Officials announced on Monday that Choi Yeon-hee, former fourth-term lawmaker of the ruling conservative Saenuri Party, has been named as chairman for the construction and agriculture business sectors.
He will thus be one of the group’s three joint chiefs, along with conventional chairman Kim Jun-ki and former science minister Oh Myeong who became chief officer and president of Dongbu HiTek last year.
But unlike Oh, who has a doctorate in electronic engineering and a long career in scientific sectors, Choi has no experience in business management, let alone construction and agriculture.
The closesting thing he had to a corporate career was his close ties with the Dongbu Group chairman who come from Choi’s hometown of Donghae, according to industry sources.
The appointment came at a particularly difficult time as creditors last week issued an ultimatum on the debt-ridden Dongbu to sell off its key business units in a bid to secure liquidity.
To respond to the mounting anxiety of the financial authorities, chairman Kim recently gestured that he would accelerate the restructuring involving its lucrative steel business.
Currently, the nation’s largest steelmaker POSCO is seeking to purchase a steel mill owned by Dongbu Steel in Incheon, a deal expected to greatly improve the impoverished conglomerate’s financial status.
This was why Oh and Choi were recruited as joint chiefs, the former for semiconductors and the latter for construction and agriculture, according to officials.
Observers, however, are skeptical whether a former criminal lawyer and conservative lawmaker may shed any light upon Dongbu Group or its struggling construction and agriculture business.
This skeptic view was further boosted by the fact that Choi disgracefully departed from the Saenuri Party in 2006 on charges of sexual harassment. He was also fined for illicit dealings with a savings bank.
After passing the bar exam in 1972 and working as judge, prosecutor and private lawyer, Choi joined the political circles in 1996 as the representative of Donghae-Samcheok, Gangwon Province, and member of the former body of the current ruling Saenuri Party.
During his first three terms, Choi served in high-ranking posts such as chairperson of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee and the former Grand National Party’s secretary-general.
The lawmaker, however, stained his political career in 2006 by sexually harassing a female journalist. His excuse that he had mistaken the journalist as the restaurant owner only further provoked the public and pushed him to step down from his post as secretary-general.
He then broke away from the party but won his fourth parliamentary term as independent candidate in the next general election.
In addition to his past disgrace as sexual harasser, Choi was also handed down a fine of 5 million won ($4,751) and a penalty of 20 million won last year for taking illicit political funds from a former savings bank chief.
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
Dongbu Group‘s pick of ex-lawmaker leaves question mark
It is understandable that Dongbu Group, amid rising pressure for restructuring, may want to recruit fresh figures for a change but the appearance of a former senior lawmaker is nevertheless abrupt, especially when he is an outlander in the corresponding business.
Officials announced on Monday that Choi Yeon-hee, former fourth-term lawmaker of the ruling conservative Saenuri Party, has been named as chairman for the construction and agriculture business sectors.
He will thus be one of the group’s three joint chiefs, along with conventional chairman Kim Jun-ki and former science minister Oh Myeong who became chief officer and president of Dongbu HiTek last year.
But unlike Oh, who has a doctorate in electronic engineering and a long career in scientific sectors, Choi has no experience in business management, let alone construction and agriculture.
The closesting thing he had to a corporate career was his close ties with the Dongbu Group chairman who come from Choi’s hometown of Donghae, according to industry sources.
The appointment came at a particularly difficult time as creditors last week issued an ultimatum on the debt-ridden Dongbu to sell off its key business units in a bid to secure liquidity.
To respond to the mounting anxiety of the financial authorities, chairman Kim recently gestured that he would accelerate the restructuring involving its lucrative steel business.
Currently, the nation’s largest steelmaker POSCO is seeking to purchase a steel mill owned by Dongbu Steel in Incheon, a deal expected to greatly improve the impoverished conglomerate’s financial status.
This was why Oh and Choi were recruited as joint chiefs, the former for semiconductors and the latter for construction and agriculture, according to officials.
Observers, however, are skeptical whether a former criminal lawyer and conservative lawmaker may shed any light upon Dongbu Group or its struggling construction and agriculture business.
This skeptic view was further boosted by the fact that Choi disgracefully departed from the Saenuri Party in 2006 on charges of sexual harassment. He was also fined for illicit dealings with a savings bank.
After passing the bar exam in 1972 and working as judge, prosecutor and private lawyer, Choi joined the political circles in 1996 as the representative of Donghae-Samcheok, Gangwon Province, and member of the former body of the current ruling Saenuri Party.
During his first three terms, Choi served in high-ranking posts such as chairperson of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee and the former Grand National Party’s secretary-general.
The lawmaker, however, stained his political career in 2006 by sexually harassing a female journalist. His excuse that he had mistaken the journalist as the restaurant owner only further provoked the public and pushed him to step down from his post as secretary-general.
He then broke away from the party but won his fourth parliamentary term as independent candidate in the next general election.
In addition to his past disgrace as sexual harasser, Choi was also handed down a fine of 5 million won ($4,751) and a penalty of 20 million won last year for taking illicit political funds from a former savings bank chief.
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
