Woongjin reborn as IT solution company beyond education firm

Woongjin Co., better known as the home-study workbook brand Woongjin ThinkBig in South Korea, has been transforming into an information technology solution provider for rental companies and car dealerships, its co-Chief Executive Lee Soo-young said.

Woongjin is the holding company of Woongjin ThinkBig; Woongjin Booxen Co., a logistics and publishing company; and Woongjin Playdoci, a leisure activity and theme park operator.

It has reduced rental services after selling Coway Co., South Korea’s No. 1 water purifier and bidet rental company, to Netmarble Corp., a gaming developer, for 1.7 trillion won ($1.25 billion) in 2019.

“South Korea’s rental market is saturated and has limited growth potential, but the rental solutions market is unconquered land,” he told The Korea Economic Daily in an interview on Monday.

He has been leading the company's IT operations for a fifth year. Yoon Sae-bom, the second son of Woongjin Group Chairman Yoon Seok-keum, oversees its other operations as co-CEO.

Lee built up his career at LG Electronics Inc., consulting firm Accenture and LG CNS Co. as an IT solution expert, before joining Woongin in 2018.

Woongjin’s IT business includes SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP), cloud servers, smart factory and smart logistics. SAP is the most-used ERP software.

It focuses on corporate rental management solutions under the Woongjin Rental Management System (WRMS), based on the Internet of Things connectivity technology, to manage sourcing, logistics, storage and sales.

LG Electronics, Coway Co. and SK Networks Co. are among some 30 major domestic rental services companies using the WRMS.

Woongjin has been expanding into the rental solutions market for automobiles with the launch of the Woongjin Digital Mobility Solution service tailored to car dealers and dealerships.

It has secured contracts with dealerships of BMW, Audi and Volkswagen to offer the service.

Lee noted that its digital mobility solution will bolster sales network management and customer data collection to retain customers and reflect customer needs in developing new cars.

SALES, PROFIT GROWTH

Woongjin’s IT business derives the bulk of its revenue from outside its affiliated companies. It forecasts its IT division’s sales to rise to 150 billion won ($110 million) this year, compared to 127.6 billion won in 2023 and 117.5 billion won in 2022.

“We are aiming to achieve 300 billion won in sales from IT services within the next three years,” Lee said.

Its operating profits are expected to climb to 16.5 billion won versus 13.1 billion won in 2023 and 12.1 billion won in 2022, according to the company.

It is now setting its sights on the US rental solutions market. It has hosted exhibition booths during CES, the world’s largest IT fair, in recent years.

“We are considering spinning off our IT business into a separate unit after foraying into the US and other overseas markets,” he said.

Write to Kyung-Ju Kang at qurasoha@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.