KT&G shareholders vote in new CEO

KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man [KT&G]

Bang Kyung-man, a nominee for CEO of KT&G, gained shareholder approval during Thursday's annual general meeting despite opposition from the top shareholder and an advisory firm.

The appointment marks the first leadership change in nine years for Korea's dominant tobacco company.

The annual general meeting, held at KT&G's Human Resources Development Center in Daejeon, concerned the appointment of a new chief executive and an outside director.

"We are committed to achieving our vision of becoming a ‘global top-tier’ company by taking a leap forward and leveraging our three core business areas — overseas combustibles, next-generation products and health functional food — as the cornerstone of growth," the nominee said.

Bang has held various positions within the company since joining in 1998.

As managing director of brand management, he oversaw the successful launch of the cigarette Esse Change, reinforcing KT&G's position in the domestic market. As executive managing director of global headquarters, Bang expanded the company's overseas market presence to over 100 countries, achieving a milestone of 1 trillion won ($741 million) in overseas sales.

Despite opposition from some voters including KT&G’s top shareholder, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), which cited falling profitability, as well as and Singapore-based activist fund Flashlight Capital Partners as well as leading global proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services, Bang secured the CEO position with the highest number of votes.

The shareholders also approved the appointment of Shon Dong-hwan, a law professor from Sungkyunkwan University, as an outside board director as recommended by IBK. Lim Min-kyu, proposed by KT&G's board, failed to secure approval.

KT&G introduced a new voting scheme, electing two candidates through cumulative voting, regardless of internal or external categorization. Shareholders were allowed to cast two votes per share, with the option to allocate both votes to one nominee.

“We are fully dedicated to driving the company’s growth and enhancing shareholder value, with the newly formed board of directors leading the change at the forefront,” said a KT&G spokesperson.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]