[비즈한국] It has been revealed that Jung Seung-bin (49), CEO of Next Kitchen, who received a suspended prison sentence for sexual molestation, still officially maintains his position as CEO. When the sexual molestation controversy involving CEO Jung broke out in January this year, Next Kitchen announced that he would be excluded from all business operations. Jung Seung-bin is the husband of Sophie Kim (Kim Seul-ah, 43), CEO of Kurly. Kurly is a major shareholder holding a 45.23% stake in Next Kitchen. Next Kitchen is also a key affiliate that supplies private brand (PB) products to Kurly.
CEO Jung Seung-bin was indicted last year on charges of sexually molesting an employee. In April of this year, the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended for two years. In a statement released this January, Next Kitchen said, "We will conduct a comprehensive review through an independent, external professional organization to ensure that the company's measures regarding this matter, including victim protection, were appropriate," adding, "Until the review is completed, we will suspend the CEO and exclude him from all company operations so that he cannot exert any influence" (Related article: Will the Sexual Molestation Allegations Against Kurly CEO Sophie Kim's Husband Impact Kurly's IPO?).
According to Kurly, CEO Jung Seung-bin is not currently performing any duties related to Next Kitchen. However, according to the corporate registry, Jung remains the only internal director of Next Kitchen, effectively serving as the CEO. His name is also still listed as CEO on the Next Kitchen website.
Generally, if a company's CEO position becomes vacant, another director takes over as the acting CEO. However, Jung Seung-bin is the only internal director at Next Kitchen. Unregistered executives are not considered directors under commercial law and cannot serve as acting CEOs. If there is no registered director, a temporary representative must be appointed through the court. Article 386 of the Commercial Act states, "If the court deems it necessary, it may appoint a person to perform the duties of a director temporarily upon the request of a director, auditor, or other interested parties," and adds, "In such cases, the registration must be made at the location of the head office."
Next Kitchen announced that it had suspended CEO Jung Seung-bin in January this year. However, even six months later, no new or temporary CEO has been appointed, and Jung remains officially listed in the role. Whenever a seal of the CEO is required for internal approvals at Next Kitchen, it ultimately requires CEO Jung's authorization. Because he received a suspended sentence rather than being imprisoned, he can still exert influence over Next Kitchen as long as he remains in the CEO position. Bizhankook reached out to Next Kitchen for comment but received no response.
Meanwhile, when the sexual molestation charges against CEO Jung Seung-bin became public, there were signs of a boycott against Kurly on social media. However, Kurly's actual performance is on an upward trend. According to quarterly reports, Kurly's revenue increased by 28.41% from 580.7 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 745.7 billion won in the first quarter of this year, and during the same period, its operating profit soared approximately 13-fold from 1.8 billion won to 24.2 billion won. The cost of products Kurly purchased from Next Kitchen also increased by 21.90%, from 5.7 billion won to 7 billion won.