CJ Korea Express Vice Chairman Lee Chae-wook, 

concurrently CEO of CJ Corp.(photo: CJ Group)

CJ Group has carried out a massive reshuffle, appointing CJ Korea Express Vice Chairman Lee Chae-wook to concurrently serve as the CEO of CJ Corp., the holding company of the group, to replace Lee Kwan-hoon. 

Lee’s appointment as CEO of CJ Corp. is construed as the group’s bid to fill the management vacuum created by the absence of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun. Former CJ Corp. CEO Lee, who was also on the group’s decision-making body, a five-member management committee, takes a step back as an adviser, virtually quitting all management positions.

In announcing the new CJ Corp. CEO Lee’s appointment, the group said that it badly needs to go global to elevate it to a higher level, so he is a qualified businessman with the chops to run it. 

Lee’s Midas Touch at Incheon Int’l Airport

Lee, who began his career as an employee of Samsung C&T, held such prominent positions as the Asian chief of General Electric, the chairman of GE Korea, and president of Incheon International Airport Corp. It was this past April that he was appointed to president & CEO of CJ Korea Express, a logistics unit of the group, which was established by merging CJ LNS and Korea Express. 

While serving as the CEO of Incheon International Airport Corp., Lee earned a reputation for his innovative management prowess as the corporation won the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) prize from Airports Council International (ACI) for a seventh straight year. He got the honor of becoming the first Korean to serve as a member of the governing body of the ACI. 

Upon his appointment of CJ Corp. CEO, Lee was quoted as saying, “Even though I have a strong sense of responsibility on my shoulders, I will do my best to explore CJ Group’s new growth engines through globalization.” He went on to say that he will strive to make the group the one committed to corporate social responsibility by ingraining the DNA of creative management into the group. 

The group also conducted its reorganization, calling for the establishment of a department designed to ramp up the group’s capability in global business portfolios, among others. The Global Team is headed by Hur Min-hoe, vice president of CJ Corp. in charge of overall management.

The existing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Team has been expanded into the Creating Shared Values Office. Min Hee-gyeong, vice president in charge of manpower, has been appointed to head the office. The group said Min, who obtained an MBA degree from Columbia University, held such positions as the head of the management support division at Prudential Investment & Securities, the predecessor of Hanwha Investment & Securities, and the chief of the investment attraction division at the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority. Lee, a childhood friend of CJ Vice Chairman Lee Mi-jyung, has been credited with her contribution to introducing advanced systems in building the group’s corporate ecosystem.  

CJ Korea Express Vice President Sohn Kwan-soo was appointed to be the head of the group’s human development division, replacing Min. 

Vice President Kim Sang-young, a former journalist, took office as the chief of the group’s public relations office, replacing Vice President Shin Dong-hwi, who moved to the chief of the Strategic Support Office at CJ Korea Express. 

In particular, the group promoted younger executives, including the appointing of Managing Director Koo Chang-geun, 40, as the head of CJ Corp.’s Business Division.