For the first time among Korea’s family-run chaebol, Doosan Group’s family leadership has entered its fourth generation. This is a new experiment for Korea’s business community with its relatively short corporate history.
Park Jeong-won’s performance will be important in shaping the Koreans’ perception of fourth-generation succession at a time when public sentiment has been cool toward hereditary management at Korea’s large corporations.
Park’s designation as chairman of the 120-year-old conglomerate brings with it many challenges. There are concerns that Park has not yet shown the kind of leadership and management capacity to take control of the nation’s 12th-largest conglomerate. Park, the eldest son of the former Doosan Group Chairman Park Yong-kon, will first need to prove to his critics that he can turn things around for the troubled group.
His appointment comes as the group’s key affiliates ― such as construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore and power equipment maker Doosan Heavy Industries ― are in financial trouble. Last year, Doosan Infracore gained controversy when it asked its staff, even junior employees, to apply for a voluntary retirement program.
These recent troubles have greatly undermined the image of the group, which started as a small shop in 1896, has developed into a multinational conglomerate through mergers and acquisitions. Park will need to lead his company through an unprecedented financial crisis while developing new engines of growth and fostering an innovative corporate culture.
To assuage concerns about hereditary succession, Park should also be mindful of the chaebol’s duty to demonstrate social and ethical responsibility.