Kyochon head to step down, family won’t inherit position

Kyochon Chicken founder Kwon Won-kang will step down from management, announced Kyochon F&B on Wednesday.

Kwon started the business as a small chicken restaurant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, in 1991, and is personally credited for inventing Kyochon’s iconic soy sauce chicken. He served as CEO and chairman of the company. Kwon’s successor will not be a member of his family, but Hwang Hak-soo, currently Kyochon F&B’s president.

“The business environment is going through rapid changes and without innovation there is no future for us,” said Kwon during an internal event that celebrated Kyochon’s 28th anniversary on Wednesday.

“For the sake of the company and our franchises, I decided that it’s time for a professional management system.”

A voluntary hand over to someone outside the founding family is unusual in the food franchise industry.

By Song Kyoung-son