[비즈한국] Kim Jin-ah (40), the second daughter of Chairman Kim Woong-ki (73) of Global Sae-A Group, the 70th-largest business group in Korea, was appointed CEO and President of Global Sae-A on the 1st. With this move, Global Sae-A Group has entered a full-scale second-generation management system. Chairman Kim has three daughters, and Kim Jin-ah has long been considered the leading successor. Through this latest reshuffle, President Kim has solidified her position as the heir. However, while Chairman Kim holds an absolute majority stake in the holding company, the daughters' stakes remain minimal, drawing attention to how President Kim will go about securing equity in the future.
Global Sae-A Group originated from Sae-A Trading, founded by Chairman Kim Woong-ki in 1986, and has grown into a major conglomerate that ranked 70th in the business world this year. On the 1st, the influence of the second generation was bolstered as Chairman Kim's second daughter, Vice President Kim Jin-ah, was promoted to President, and his third daughter, Kim Se-ra (33), Executive Director of Strategic Planning, was promoted to Vice President of the Sales Division. President Kim Jin-ah, who has been viewed as the primary successor, serves as a registered director not only at Global Sae-A but also at Sae-A Trading, and has seen a rapid rise from Vice President in 2022 to President this year. The eldest daughter, Kim Se-yeon (42), is known to be running golf course and real estate development businesses in the United States.
Despite her growing influence, President Kim Jin-ah’s stake in the holding company, Global Sae-A, remains at a negligible level. Global Sae-A Group is a family-owned company where the owner family holds a 100% stake; Chairman Kim Woong-ki holds 84.8%, his wife and Sae-A Foundation Chair Kim Soo-nam holds 12.36%, and Kim Se-yeon and President Kim Jin-ah each hold 0.59%. The remaining 1.66% is held by Global Sae-A as treasury shares. The three daughters also hold a 38.06% stake in the group’s flagship company, Sae-A Trading. When Sae-A Ains was merged into the company in 2018, new shares worth 131.2 billion won were issued, resulting in Kim Se-yeon holding 12.94%, and President Kim Jin-ah and Vice President Kim Se-ra each holding 12.56%. In effect, the three sisters share equal influence.
For President Kim Jin-ah to strengthen her control over the group, she must secure the 97.16% stake in Global Sae-A currently held by her parents, Chairman Kim Woong-ki and Chair Kim Soo-nam. The problem is capital. There has been speculation that the three sisters have been using dividends from Sae-A Trading to prepare for future inheritance and gift taxes on Global Sae-A shares. Over the five years from 2018 to 2023, the three sisters received approximately 130 billion won in dividends from Sae-A Trading.
While some speculate that the group might increase control by merging companies where the three daughters have high stakes with key affiliates, this does not seem realistic. Although Kim Se-yeon holds a 34% stake in the art consignment affiliate S2A (with President Kim Jin-ah and Vice President Kim Se-ra each holding 33%), and Vice President Kim Se-ra holds 100% of the coffee operations affiliate Taebum, both companies are currently suffering from capital impairment.
Regarding this, a Global Sae-A official explained, "There is nothing currently in progress (regarding the securing of management control)."