Koo Ja-eun takes helm of Korea’s cable, machinery conglomerate LS Group

Koo Ja-eun, chairman of South Korea’s LS Mtron Co., a machinery and components maker, will lead the country’s 14th-largest conglomerate from January of next year.

Koo, one of the second-generation members of LS Group’s founding families, will be tasked to lead the conglomerate in digital transformation and innovative management, the group said on Nov. 26.

The conglomerate’s board of directors approved Koo as its new group chairman on Friday, coinciding with the group's biggest-ever management reshuffle involving chief executives of nine affiliates.

The appointment of Koo, 57, follows the conglomerate’s tradition of the group founder’s cousins taking turns leading LS Group every nine years.

Spun off from the larger group in 2003, LS Group was co-founded by the three younger brothers of LG Group founder Koo In-hoi.

Koo Ja-hong, one of the founder’s cousins, served as LS Group’s inaugural chairman from 2004 to 2012, followed by Koo Ja-yeol, the current chairman of the group.

The incoming LS Group leader, Koo Ja-eun, will be the last second-generation chairman of the group’s founding families.

LS Corp. is the holding company of the group, which comprises Korea’s top wire and cable producer LS Cable & System Ltd.; LS-Nikko Copper Inc., the world’s second-largest electrolytic copper maker; LS Electric Co., an electrical equipment and automation systems maker; and LS Mtron Co., a machinery and components manufacturer.

LS Group is Korea’s 14th-largest conglomerate in terms of assets and posted 24.27 trillion won ($20.3 billion) in revenue groupwide in 2020.

BEGAN CAREER AS ENTRY-LEVEL WORKER

Koo Ja-eun began his career at LG in 1990 as an entry-level employee and has since worked in various industries, including electronics, oil refinery, trade, metal refining, power and telecommunications cables and agricultural machinery.

He joined LS Group in 2004 as an executive at LS Cable’s Chinese operations, and from 2019 he led a team in charge of finding new growth drivers for the group.

On Friday, the group also reshuffled CEOs of nine affiliates.

LS Cable & System CEO Myung Roe-Hyun has been named to lead LS Corp.

LS Mtron Vice President Koo Bon-kyu will now lead LS Cable as its CEO.

Kim Jong-woo, formerly chief executive of Nongshim Kellogg, Korea’s second-largest cereal maker, has been tapped as the chief operating officer of LS Electric.

Write to Hyung-Suk Song at click@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.