[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Lee Ju-won (37), the eldest son of Chong Kun Dang185750 Chairman Rhee Jang-han and current head of the development planning team, was appointed as a non-executive director of Chong Kun Dang Bio063160 on March 28. By joining the Chong Kun Dang Bio board, Lee will now exercise voting rights on key company resolutions. With Lee's role within the group expanding, attention is focused on whether this signals a shift in the succession process.
Lee Ju-won, a third-generation member of the Chong Kun Dang founding family, joined the board of directors of the affiliate Chong Kun Dang Bio as a non-executive director on March 28, with the official registration date set for April 2. A non-executive director does not work at the company full-time but possesses the same voting rights as an executive director. Through this position, Lee will participate in major decision-making processes at Chong Kun Dang Bio, a key affiliate specializing in active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and probiotics.
This marks the first significant change in Lee Ju-won's influence within the group in about four years. Lee began his formal management training in March 2018 when he was appointed as an executive director of Chong Kun Dang Industry, the group's real estate development arm. He joined the major affiliate Chong Kun Dang the following year and has been serving as the head of the development planning team since 2020. The development planning team is considered a core position, responsible for bringing pharmaceuticals produced by foreign manufacturers into the domestic market.
Regarding the appointment of Lee Ju-won as a non-executive director, a Chong Kun Dang representative stated, "This has no connection to succession, and as a non-executive director, Lee Ju-won does not hold a specific, dedicated role at Chong Kun Dang Bio."
As the group influence of Chairman Rhee Jang-han’s eldest son continues to grow, industry analysts are questioning whether the once-stalled succession clock at Chong Kun Dang has begun to tick again. Chairman Rhee has three children: his eldest son, Lee Ju-won; his eldest daughter, Lee Ju-kyung (35), an executive director at Tellife; and his second daughter, Lee Ju-ah (27).
Eldest daughter Lee Ju-kyung serves as an executive director at Tellife, a health supplement sales and agency firm established through a 50:50 joint investment with Chong Kun Dang Healthcare. The second daughter, Lee Ju-ah, is not known to hold any position within the group. It is confirmed that among the third-generation owners, only Lee Ju-won’s role has expanded this year.
However, there has been no change in the shareholdings of the owner family. According to the shareholder status of Chong Kun Dang Holdings001630, Chairman Rhee Jang-han remains the largest shareholder with 33.73%. His wife, Chung Jae-jung, is the second-largest shareholder with 5.82%, followed by their children: Lee Ju-won (2.89%), Lee Ju-ah (2.59%), and Lee Ju-kyung (2.55%).
The stakes held by the three siblings are significantly smaller than those of their father. They had been actively purchasing shares of Chong Kun Dang Holdings until March of last year, but such activity has remained stagnant for about 1 year and 7 months.
Regarding this, a spokesperson for Chong Kun Dang Holdings stated, "We are aware of no specific plans regarding further stock purchases by the third-generation owners at this time."