LG executes large reshuffle at 10 units

From left : Han Sang-bum, Shin Mun-bum and Cho Sung-jin

LG carried out a major reshuffle at 10 of its subsidiaries including its flagship LG Electronics yesterday and the day before.

A total of 110 employees were promoted to executive posts, compared to 106 last year.

Three were granted presidential positions. Han Sang-bum, former CEO and vice president of LG Display, becomes the company’s CEO and president; Shin Mun-bum, former vice president of the home appliance division at LG Electronics, was named head of LG Electronics China; and Cho Sung-jin, former vice president of LG Electronics’ washing machine business division, becomes president of the company’s home appliance division.

Eight people were promoted to the position of vice president, up from three last year.

“We strictly applied the principle of promoting those who showed clear achievements, under the premise that the local business environment is now facing a crisis,” said LG in a statement.

Designating Cho as president sets a new precedent in LG’s 54-year history as he joined the company without obtaining a college degree. The fact that an employee with such a limited educational background was able to climb to the top corporate rung in Korea’s highly competitive society, where prestigious college degrees are considered crucial, is practically unheard of.

A graduate of Yongsan Technical High School, Cho entered LG Electronics in 1976. He received a scholarship from LG while attending high school. He then became head of the washing machine research center in 2001 and vice president of the same division in 2007 based on engineering expertise.

LG Electronics’ washing machines have their drive shafts directly connected to the motor. That development, at the hands of Cho, paved the way for designs that allowed for more space for clothes inside, which both increased capacity, and shortened washing hours. It has emerged as one of LG’s major competitive edges that helped it secure the coveted status of No. 1 in the global market in recent years.

By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr]