The North Face supplier Youngone hints at succession plan

Youngone Corp., a South Korean outdoor clothing maker to global brands like The North Face and Patagonia, has given a clearer signal that Chairman Kihak Sung is positioning his second daughter RaeEun Sung as his successor as he has gifted her some shares in YMSA, the largest stakeholder in Youngone’s holding firm.

The chairman, who used to wholly own YMSA, gifted an undisclosed amount of its stakes to RaeEun Sung in March of this year, said the holding firm Youngone Holdings Co. earlier this month. The shares owned by the second daughter are valued at 170 billion won ($130.7 million), according to banking sources.

YMSA and the chairman own 29.1% and 16.8% stakes, respectively, in the main bourse Kospi-listed Youngone Holdings. The holding firm has controlling stakes in the clothing manufacturer Youngone and the domestic distributor of The North Face products Youngoneoutdoor Corp.

RaeEun Sung has been the CEO of Youngone Holdings since 2016. She also became the vice chairman of the outdoor clothing maker last November and leads the group’s major businesses.

Youngone’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business, which makes and supplies clothing to global fashion brands, jumped 47% on-year to 4.4 trillion won in revenue last year as the US dollar strengthened against the Korean won and the global outdoor clothing market boomed.

RaeEun Sung joined the clothing manufacturing company in 2002, became an executive for the firm’s global compliance and corporate social responsibility in 2007 and took the position of CEO in 2020.

The chairman’s eldest daughter SiEun Sung manages the group’s social responsibility activities. GaEun Sung, the third daughter, is leading Youngoneoutdoor’s domestic businesses.

(Updated with the clients' list)

Write to Jeong-Cheol Bae at bjc@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.