Korea Line names ex-Konkuk University president Min Sang-ki as new CEO

Korea Line, the shipping arm of SM Group, has appointed former Konkuk University president Min Sang-ki as its new chief executive, turning to an outside figure with a track record in organizational management and talent development as the company seeks to strengthen its business fundamentals amid continued volatility in the shipping market.

Korea Line announced Tuesday that Min had taken office as president and CEO.

The appointment was approved at an extraordinary shareholder meeting and board meeting held Monday at the Listed Companies Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Min, born in 1955 in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in food engineering from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany. He joined Konkuk University as a professor in 1995 and went on to serve as dean of the graduate school and vice president for academic affairs before serving as the university's 20th president from September 2016 to August 2020.

During his tenure as president, he pursued expanded industry-academia cooperation, reforms to undergraduate education and the securing of government-backed programs to promote industry linkages — efforts that earned him recognition for building a talent-development framework suited to the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Min currently serves as a board member of the Dongshin Education Foundation, a school foundation chaired by SM Group chairman Woo Oh-hyun, making him a specially related party to Korea Line's largest shareholder. Observers note that while his appointment reflects the company's intent to bring in an outside expert in organizational management and talent development, it also draws on the group's personal network.

With the change in leadership, outgoing CEO Lee Dong-su concluded his tenure roughly 10 months after being formally appointed last September.

Korea Line said it expects Min to draw on his experience in organizational management and talent development to enhance corporate value, drive sustainable growth and strengthen the company's ESG management framework.

The shipping industry is highly sensitive to shifts in the global economy, cargo volumes, vessel supply and environmental regulation, all of which contribute to significant earnings volatility. Korea Line faces the challenge of building a stable business portfolio while also bolstering its capacity to respond to ESG demands as it pursues long-term competitiveness.

In his inaugural address, Min said the company would "pursue relentless innovation to drive growth and uncover future business opportunities, place ESG management — with sustainability as the top priority — at the heart of our operations, and entrench flawless ethical management to build a solid foundation, while aggressively targeting high-value-added markets." He added that he would "elevate Korea Line into a global shipping company that delivers the highest value and vision to our customers and shareholders."