According to a report by South Korean media outlet Inews on December 12, the recent actions of KT&G, a Korean company, have caught the attention of the industry. The company's board of directors removed the clause "priority given to reappointment" in accordance with government policies. This has brought increased scrutiny to the CEO with the longest tenure, Bok-Rin Baek.
Despite Bok-Rin Baek not yet revealing whether he has decided to run for reelection, the possibility of him securing another term is steadily diminishing under external public opinion pressure.
The action by the board of directors is being interpreted as a move to follow the current government's criticism of the practice of successive re-elections and is seen as an effort to prevent the company from experiencing "private re-elections" again. By sending such a warning signal, it implies that the South Korean company KT&G may be putting an end to the habit of "self-re-election".
This year, the performance of KT&G Corporation undoubtedly poses severe challenges for CEO Bok-Rin Baek, which could potentially affect his chances of re-election for the longest tenure in the company's history.
Since the appointment of Bok-Rin Baek in 2015, KT&G has experienced significant external growth. Sales in 2016 amounted to 4.5033 trillion Korean won, reaching a new historical high of 5.8565 trillion Korean won last year. However, during the same period, operating profit decreased from 1.4701 trillion Korean won to 1.2678 trillion Korean won, which has been criticized as "insignificant".
For this long-serving CEO, the prospects this year are not optimistic. Despite the anticipation of further decline in profits, the annual sales are expected to remain relatively unchanged compared to last year.
All these factors are placing immense pressure on Bok-Rin Baek's re-election campaign. Ultimately, the industry is predicting that the success of Bok-Rin Baek's re-election will depend on the level of government pressure and whether he is willing to fight for his own position.
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