Song Gwang-seok officially takes office as 15th CEO
Vows to pursue public mission alongside commercial growth
Brings background in media leadership and railway board service
Korail Tourism Development, which operates rail-linked tourism products and onboard crew services, held an inauguration ceremony Wednesday at its headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, officially installing Song Gwang-seok as its new chief executive.
Taking office as the company's 15th CEO, Song said his management vision is to build a sustainable rail tourism company where public service and commercial viability grow together.
To that end, Song outlined six core priorities: field-centered management, stronger rail tourism competitiveness, customer service innovation, regional co-prosperity, safety first, and integrity-driven responsible management.
Song designated onboard crew service as a core offering delivered at the closest point of contact with customers. The company plans to incorporate frontline feedback and sharpen customer-handling capabilities to raise the quality of service that passengers actually experience.
The company also intends to expand tourism products linking rail travel with regional cultural and tourism resources, and to develop stay-based tourism packages combining transportation, accommodation and sightseeing — contributing to local economic vitality.
Korail Tourism Development plans to upgrade its digital tourism services to improve travel convenience for customers, and to reinforce a field-centered, preventive safety management system, placing safety as the top priority in all operations.
"We will go beyond being a company that simply offers train travel, and leap forward into one that connects people and regions through rail while creating new value in tourism," Song said. "In particular, we will raise the quality of our crew services — which are responsible for travel convenience at the closest point to our customers — to deliver rail tourism experiences that passengers can truly feel."
Song previously worked in the media industry, serving as editor-in-chief and chief executive at outlets including the Daejeon Ilbo, and also served as a non-standing board member of Korea National Railway.
terry@heraldcorp.com
