Daewoo Engineering CEO Kim Bo-hyun steps down; Lee Kang-seok tapped as successor

Daewoo Engineering & Construction headquarters. [Provided by Daewoo Engineering & Construction]

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Thursday that CEO Kim Bo-hyun has voluntarily stepped down and that Lee Kang-seok, the company's current head of external affairs, will be promoted to executive vice president and nominated as the next CEO candidate. The leadership change is intended to build on the stable management foundation established under Kim and set the stage for a new phase of growth.

The company said Kim submitted his resignation ahead of his term's expiration and that it has accepted it. Lee has been designated as the incoming CEO-level executive vice president.

Kim has led Daewoo Engineering & Construction's growth since 2021, when he oversaw the acquisition process as head of the acquisition team, guiding the company with steady leadership and hands-on management. Amid a challenging business environment at home and abroad, he maintained a rigorous risk management approach and a profitability-focused strategy that successfully improved the company's fundamentals.

By proactively accounting for potential risks, Kim secured the company's financial health — a move that helped Daewoo Engineering & Construction beat market expectations for two consecutive quarters, in the first and second quarters of this year.

"We believe CEO Kim has faithfully fulfilled his responsibilities," the company said, adding that he had expressed the view that new leadership was needed for the company to sustain its growth and respond swiftly to a rapidly changing external environment.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction CEO Kim Bo-hyun has submitted his resignation ahead of his term's expiration. Executive Vice President Lee Kang-seok, the current head of external affairs, has been designated as his successor. [Provided by Daewoo Engineering & Construction]

Kim is understood to have conveyed that, with the company's emergency management regime now concluded and operations back on a normal track, the time was right to transition to a younger, fresh leadership structure.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction faces several major management challenges in the second half of this year, including securing large-scale domestic and overseas project contracts and advancing future growth initiatives. To address these without disruption, the company decided to move up the CEO appointment timeline earlier than in previous years. It also plans to carry out organizational restructuring and follow-up personnel changes quickly to minimize any leadership gap and ensure organizational stability and management continuity.

Lee, who joined the company in 1996, is a career Daewoo man who has built his career across sales and external affairs. He is regarded as having strong capabilities in strengthening domestic and overseas contract competitiveness, as well as in communication and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including the government, clients and partner firms.

"This appointment reflects our determination to achieve a generational shift toward younger, more dynamic leadership capable of responding swiftly and flexibly to a rapidly changing business environment," a company official said. "Executive Vice President Lee Kang-seok, with his fresh perspective and strong execution ability, is seen as the right person to inject new energy into the organization."

Daewoo Engineering & Construction plans to proceed sequentially: the board of directors will confirm the CEO candidate, shareholders will then elect him as an inside director at a general meeting, and a subsequent board resolution will formally appoint him as CEO.

"Through this leadership transition, we will secure both management stability and growth momentum and push ahead with key projects in the second half without disruption," a company official said.

lucky@heraldcorp.com