Selection Process for Next KT&G CEO Begins

According to a report by South Korean media outlet news.tf on January 31, the supervisory committee of KT&G Corporation (referred to as the "committee") has revealed that since the end of last December, it has conducted 8 rounds of candidate selection and review. Taking into account the objective opinions of the external expert advisory committee, the committee has finalized a shortlist for the first round. The committee has preliminarily identified 8 potential candidates for the next CEO, including 4 external candidates and 4 internal candidates.

The established candidate recommendation committee will conduct a review of the eight candidates on the shortlist, in order to thoroughly verify their qualifications. It is expected that in mid-February, the second round shortlist will be determined, reducing the number of candidates to three to four, and the list will be announced.

Next, the plan is to finalize the candidates by conducting focused interviews with the shortlisted individuals in February. Following this, through discussions at the board of directors and the shareholders' meeting, the opinions of all shareholders will be taken into account in order to select the next president, to be announced at the regular shareholders' meeting in late March.

The candidate recommendation committee is comprised of all external directors except for the current president. The current president, Bai Furen, has stated that he will not be partaking in the recommendation committee in order to maintain fairness and objectivity.

Chairman Kim Sung-cheol of the candidate recommendation committee stated, "We have identified the lineup of candidates based on reflecting the fair and objective opinions of the external expert advisory committee." He further emphasized, "We will diligently and transparently review the next president according to the principles of maximizing the interests of KT&G shareholders and the future value of the company.