By Baek Byung-yeul
Hite Jinro heir Park Tae-young has been promoted to president of the local liquor and beverage giant's sales and marketing division, in a move to prepare for a generational shift in leadership.
The company held its annual personnel reshuffle of executives on Tuesday and Park, the eldest son of Chairman Park Mun-deok, will serve as co-president with incumbent President Kim In-kyu. The chairman's second son Jae-hong has been promoted to vice president.
Hite Jinro said the eldest son will focus on sales and marketing.
The new president joined Hite Jinro in 2012 and was appointed to vice president in 2015. Since then, he has led the company's innovation and improved its marketing and sales capability.
Park especially has been recognized for his efforts to improve sales of Hite Jinro's Terra lager beer and Jinro soju. Thanks to his efforts, the company's unprofitable beer business made a turnaround in 2019.
With this promotion as a beginning, liquor industry officials said Hite Jinro is accelerating the group's third-generation succession process.
"With this personnel reshuffle, we will solidify our status as a leading company in the country's liquor industry and grow into a global liquor firm," the company said.
Despite the pandemic, Hite Jinro has been enjoying robust sales of its beer and soju products. In the third quarter, the company posted 624.2 billion won ($575 million) in sales, an 18 percent increase on the same period in 2019. The company's operating profit also jumped by 30.9 percent to 64.3 billion won.
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| New Hite Jinro President Park Tae-young |
The company held its annual personnel reshuffle of executives on Tuesday and Park, the eldest son of Chairman Park Mun-deok, will serve as co-president with incumbent President Kim In-kyu. The chairman's second son Jae-hong has been promoted to vice president.
Hite Jinro said the eldest son will focus on sales and marketing.
The new president joined Hite Jinro in 2012 and was appointed to vice president in 2015. Since then, he has led the company's innovation and improved its marketing and sales capability.
Park especially has been recognized for his efforts to improve sales of Hite Jinro's Terra lager beer and Jinro soju. Thanks to his efforts, the company's unprofitable beer business made a turnaround in 2019.
With this promotion as a beginning, liquor industry officials said Hite Jinro is accelerating the group's third-generation succession process.
"With this personnel reshuffle, we will solidify our status as a leading company in the country's liquor industry and grow into a global liquor firm," the company said.
Despite the pandemic, Hite Jinro has been enjoying robust sales of its beer and soju products. In the third quarter, the company posted 624.2 billion won ($575 million) in sales, an 18 percent increase on the same period in 2019. The company's operating profit also jumped by 30.9 percent to 64.3 billion won.
