KITA chair to be succeeded by ex-trade minister at end of term

Industry

Published: 13 Feb. 2024, 18:15

KITA chair to be succeeded by ex-trade minister at end of term

Koo Ja-yeol, the chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), speaks at the establishment ceremony of the Special Committee on ROK-Japan Cooperation at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 7. [NEWS1]

Current Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Koo Ja-yeol will step down from his position at the end of his three-year term, according to the association on Tuesday.

Koo expressed his intention to end his tenure as the KITA head to focus on his other position as the LS Group’s chairman of the board at the association's temporary executive committee meeting in southern Seoul on Tuesday.

“I found a need to focus on my position as the LS Group’s chairman of the board in midst of a critical period when the group is aggressively expanding investments, such as acquiring a securities company and investing in a secondary battery plant being built in the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex,” Koo said at the meeting, making it difficult for him to “commit” to his position as the KITA chair.

The KITA committee tapped Yoon Jin-shik, former minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, to chair the association for the next three years.

“Yoon possesses deep understanding of trade and commerce through his position as the former trade minister and has broad experience handling economic and financial policies,” committee members said. “He is the suitable candidate who can take on the current challenges in Korean trade, such as the rapidly changing trading environment and restructuring of supply chains as well as various regulatory issues, through his broad domestic and international human network.”

The recommendation for the next chair will be finalized on Friday and Yoon is expected to be officially appointed in a general meeting on Feb. 27.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]