LG appoints new CEO

Cho Joo-wan, the new CEO of LG Electronics [LG ELETRONICS]

LG Electronics named Cho Joo-wan CEO and appointed 50 new executives.

The company’s board said after a meeting Thursday afternoon that Cho and the new executives will take their positions on Jan. 1.

Cho, born in 1962, joined LG Electronics in 1987, which was called Goldstar at the time, and has spent more than half of his 34-year career in the company’s overseas branches. Starting with the Dusseldorf branch in 1995, he has worked at LG Electronics in Germany, Canada, Australia and the United States.

When he headed the U.S. branch from 2014 to 2017, U.S. revenues rose by 12 percent, which led to his promotion as North American region leader in 2017.

For the past two years, he has been serving as chief strategy officer for LG Electronics and looking for a “winning formula and successful change,” according to the company.

LG Electronics also announced three new vice chairmen on Thursday: Kim Byung-hoon as chief technology officer, Jang Ik-hwan as executive vice president and Eun Seok-hyun as president of the Vehicle Component Solutions Company.

“Going forward, the new leadership team will accelerate change, focusing even more on customer value in pursuit of growth with each business unit assuming greater responsibility,” the company said in a release.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]