Hanssem chairman resigns after 25-year tenure
Outgoing Hanssem Chairman Choi Yang-ha announces his resignation during a monthly meeting with employees at the company's headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Hanssem
By Nam Hyun-woo
Hanssem Chairman and CEO Choi Yang-ha stepped down, Friday, after building the company into Korea's largest furniture and home interior brand logging nearly 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in sales during his 25-year tenure.
Following his departure, the company appointed Vice Chairman Kang Seung-soo as its new CEO, expecting the 54-year-old to reinvigorate the firm.
According to Hanssem, Choi, 70, announced his resignation during a monthly meeting with employees. After stepping down from the posts, he will be an adviser to Hanssem.
“After spending 40 years at the company, I thought I should plan my future and Hanssem should plan its new future,” Choi said during his speech. “To prepare Hanssem's next 50 years, I believe new leadership is necessary for the company.”
Hanssem was established in 1970 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
Choi joined Hanssem in 1979 and has been the company's CEO since 1994. His 25-year tenure is the longest among the top 500 companies in the country.
Under his leadership, Hanssem showed noticeable growth. The company's sales grew 15 fold to 1.93 trillion won last year from 127.9 billion won in 1994. It surpassed the 2 trillion won mark in 2017, just four years after it posted sales over 1 trillion won for the first time in 2013.
The company's sales growth was in line with changes in Koreans' lifestyle, with Hanssem's kitchen furniture products taking the leading role in the expansion of Western-style kitchens.
While Choi laid the foundation for Hanssem, new Chairman Kang takes credit for Hanssem's recent growth, leading the company to expand its domain focused on kitchen furniture and suggest customers with interior options on entire home.
Kang has been widely expected as the successor of Choi, as he followed in the footsteps of Choi and climbed Hanssem's corporate ladder quickly. Kang joined Hanssem in 1995 and became the vice chairman in 2016.
An urgent task for Kang is bringing a rebound in the company's slowing sales growth. Hanssem logged 410.4 billion won in sales and 7.1 billion won in operating profit in the third quarter of this year, down 8 percent and 30 percent from a year earlier, respectively.