[비즈한국] Following the Yes24053280 hacking incident, attention is focused on the Hansae Yes24 Group. Yes24 is led by CEO Kim Seok-hwan, the eldest son of Hansae Yes24 Group Chairman Kim Dong-nyung and Vice Chairman of Hansae Yes24 Holdings016450. Some in the business world expect Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan to become the next chairman of Hansae Yes24 Group. However, if Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan fails to properly resolve this hacking crisis, his reputation may suffer as a result.
Hansae Yes24 Group Chairman Kim Dong-nyung (80) has two sons and one daughter: eldest son Kim Seok-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Yes24 Holdings (51); second son Kim Ik-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Co., Ltd.105630 (49); and eldest daughter Kim Ji-won, CEO of Hansae MK069640 (44). With Chairman Kim Dong-nyung entering his 80s, the business sector anticipates that the Hansae Yes24 Group will soon begin its management succession process.
The business world is primarily looking at two scenarios. The first is for the eldest son, Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan, to inherit the group. As CEO of the holding company, Hansae Yes24 Holdings, Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan is at the forefront of the group's management. He also leads in terms of equity. Currently, the shareholders of Hansae Yes24 Holdings consist of: Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan (25.95%), Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan (20.76%), Chairman Kim Dong-nyung (11.99%), and CEO Kim Ji-won (10.19%).
However, the stake held by Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan in Hansae Yes24 Holdings is not absolute. The difference in equity between him and Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan is not significant. If Chairman Kim Dong-nyung were to gift his remaining shares to Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan, the largest shareholder could change. Even if that doesn't happen, given the current shareholding structure, Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan cannot manage the company as he wishes if Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan and CEO Kim Ji-won were to form an alliance.
Secondly, the possibility of separating business units is being mentioned. Chairman Kim Dong-nyung’s children have already established their own respective domains. Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan focuses on publishing-related affiliates, serving as CEO of not only Hansae Yes24 Holdings but also Yes24, Dong-A Publishing, and Y&K Media. Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan serves as CEO of Hansae Co., Ltd. and Hansae Mobility, while CEO Kim Ji-won is the head of Hansae MK. Analyses suggest that the three siblings may proceed with a separation of business units based on the areas they currently manage.
Against this backdrop, the recent Yes24 hacking incident has worsened public opinion toward Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan. Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan issued an apology on June 16, a week after the incident occurred. In a statement released under the joint names of CEOs Kim Seok-hwan and Choi Se-ra, Yes24 stated, "We deeply acknowledge the shaken trust caused by this incident and are dedicating all available resources to damage recovery and restoring trust," adding, "We plan to fundamentally re-examine our security system as a result of this accident."
Yes24 also offered compensation plans to its customers. As a primary compensation measure, it announced that customers who could not watch a performance despite booking tickets would be refunded 120% of the ticket price in the form of deposits. For customers affected by shipping delays for books, it provided 2,000 points and extended the expiration dates for gift certificates and coupons that expired during the service outage. In a second compensation measure, it announced that all members would receive a 5,000 won gift certificate and a 30-day free pass for Crema Club. However, customer dissatisfaction remains high because the points and gift certificates received as compensation can only be used at Yes24 and cannot be converted into cash.
If public sentiment toward Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan does not recover, his leadership is bound to take a hit. If the situation persists, the possibility that Chairman Kim Dong-nyung might gift shares to his other children cannot be ruled out. On June 12, Chairman Kim Dong-nyung gifted a 5% stake in Hansae Yes24 Holdings to CEO Kim Ji-won. CEO Kim Ji-won's stake in Hansae Yes24 Holdings increased from 5.19% to 10.19%. June 12, the date of the gift, was after the Yes24 hacking incident occurred. It is difficult to interpret this as Chairman Kim Dong-nyung supporting Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan.
Furthermore, Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan was promoted to vice chairman in April 2020, whereas Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan reached that position earlier, in January 2020. There are few cases among business-owning families where the second son is promoted before the first. This is a point that suggests Vice Chairman Kim Seok-hwan’s position within the Hansae Yes24 Group may not be absolute.
However, Chairman Kim Dong-nyung’s other children have not achieved remarkable results. In the case of Hansae MK, led by CEO Kim Ji-won, revenue decreased by 8.61% from 67.3 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 61.5 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Hansae MK is also struggling with profitability, having recorded an operating loss of 8.1 billion won in the first quarter of this year.
In truth, the business world had not placed much significance on CEO Kim Ji-won previously. However, Chairman Kim Dong-nyung's recent gift of Hansae Yes24 Holdings shares to her has expanded her influence. If CEO Kim succeeds in improving Hansae MK's performance, the succession landscape is expected to become shrouded in mystery.
Hansae Co., Ltd., led by Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan, saw its revenue rise by 13.48% from 411.8 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 467.3 billion won in the first quarter of this year. However, profitability is also cited as an issue for Hansae Co., Ltd. Its operating profit fell by 46.76% from 38.1 billion won in the first quarter of last year to 20.3 billion won in the first quarter of this year. As no one has demonstrated outstanding performance so far and their shareholdings are similar, the atmosphere in the business world leans toward the possibility of a separation of business units.
Some in the business world expect that the Hansae Yes24 Group will begin full-scale succession work after resolving the Yes24 hacking crisis. However, the Hansae Yes24 Group has not stated any particular position regarding the succession plan.