이 기사는 2021년 11월 03일 07:52 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Choi Shin-won, co-chief executive and chairman of SK Networks, has stepped down from his positions in the company, with attention now turning to whether his eldest son, Choi Sung-hwan, will fill his seat at the board of directors.

The South Korea-based company said on Monday in a regulatory filing that Choi Shin-won had resigned from all his roles at the company effective October 29. The announcement comes as he has been on trial for the past few months over breach of trust and embezzlement charges.

With his resignation, Park Sang-kyu has become SK Networks’ sole chief executive. After Choi was arrested and taken into custody in February, Park tried to assuage shareholders by stating that he would put the board of directors at the center of the management of the company.

Now attention is being paid to whether Choi Sung-hwan, the third generation of SK founder’s family, will join the board of directors at SK Networks. The company’s nine-member board consists of three inside directors, one non-standing director and five outside directors.

Sung-hwan is head of strategic planning at the company. Born in 1981, he graduated from China’s Fudan University and completed an MBA from London Business School.

In 2009, Sung-hwan joined SKC where he began his carrier within SK Group and was promoted to an executive position in just five years. He held a senior leadership role at SK Inc, the conglomerate’s holding company, for two years from 2017, before moving to SK Networks in 2019. He was promoted to his current role earlier this year and is working as an unregistered executive.

SK Networks, part of SK Group, has been run by Choi Shin-won since 2016. His cousin and the conglomerate’s chairman Chey Tae-won does not own a stake in the company. Chey Jae-won, chairman Chey’s younger brother and the conglomerate’s executive vice chairman, also disposed his entire 0.08% stake in SK Networks in January.

SK Inc holds the largest stake in SK Networks of 39.14%, while Sung-hwan is the largest individual shareholder in the company with a 1.82% stake, higher than his father’s 0.84% stake.

Sung-hwan has actively purchased shares in the company since February after his father’s arrest, increasing his stake by 1.7%.

Industry watchers said it is likely that Sung-hwan will fill the board seat vacancy to work with Park to turn the company into a leading comprehensive rental service provider, especially considering that he is already serving as a non-standing director on the boards at SK Rent-a-Car and SK Magic, which are the company's key subsidiaries.

SK Networks created a new team focused on investments and M&As at the end of last year. The team is effectively led by Sung-hwan, who reportedly has extensive connections in the investment banking industry.

The appointment of a new director is subject to shareholder approval. SK Netwoks’ next annual general meeting is scheduled for March 2022, but the company can convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting to fill the board’s vacancy before that.

“Chairman Choi Shin-won resigned of his own accord from all his roles at the company effective October 29,” an official at SK Networks said. “We will continue to do our best for stable business growth under the leadership of the chief executive and the board of directors.” (Reporting by Seo-young Kim)