[News Focus] LG Uplus to grow under leadership of new CEO Ha

Kicker: Position swap at LG leads to numerous speculations

By Song Su-hyun

The latest reshuffle of the top brass of LG Group is raising speculations regarding the future business strategies of the telecommunications unit and the possible scenario of the conglomerate’s future affiliate regrouping.
A swap of positions was made between mobile carrier LG Uplus’ Vice Chairman and CEO Kwon Young-soo and holding company LG Corp.’s Ha Hyun-hwoi on Monday as each affiliate held separate board meetings to approve the decision by new fourth-generation Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.
Kwon has risen to the second-in-command position at the holding company, while Ha, a business strategist for the group, has moved to the telecom unit.
Ha‘s planning and leadership skills have been endorsed by LG’s top brass such as Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon.
“Koo Bon-joon’s deep trust in Ha should have influenced the latest position change,” said Park Ju-gun, head of business watcher CEO Score. Ha has been a close aide to Koo since the early 2000s when they were both at the display affiliate. Koo’s power had helped Ha experience various key posts at LG Corp.
LG Uplus accounts for around 2 percent of the total internal transactions among LG affiliates, according to data from the Fair Trade Commission.
Ha, by taking lead of Uplus, is expected to focus on raising the country’s No. 3 telecom to enlarge its business size by acquiring a cable TV channel operator and security business, industry watchers said.
“Like the LTE era ushered in by LG, being the first in 5G commercialization is very significant,” said Ha in his first attendance as LG Uplus CEO in a meeting with two other telecom CEOs and ICT Minister Yoo Young-min on Tuesday. “We will keep trying to go with the commercialization schedule by developing 5G devices and services that exceed 4G.”
Following Koo Kwang-mo’s rise as the leader of the conglomerate, the industry has been abuzz over how the group will reshape under the young vice chairman, citing its long-held tradition of splitting up affiliates for other family members holding key posts.
Under LG’s inheritance tradition held for the past seven decades, the eldest son of the group chairman assumes the reins, while other family members in the management leave the group by creating a new group or company.
Koo Bon-joon is an uncle of current Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and younger brother of late Chairman Koo Bon-moo, who died on May 20.
(song@heraldcorp.com)