Chung Yong-jin, heir apparent of South Korea's Shinsegae Group, has been promoted to chairman to help the retail giant ride out unfavorable business environments and meet rapidly changing customer demands, the group said Friday.

Shinsegae Group, which operates the country's biggest discount store chain and second-biggest department store chain, suffered a decline in sales for the first time last year since 1997, when it began to release the figures.

"The appointment is aimed at making a 'quantum jump once again' as the country's No. 1 retail company, which satisfies customers' demands by establishing an innovative system for sustainable growth amid unfavorable market conditions," Shinsegae said in a statement.

The 55-year-old chairman served as vice chairman of the country's 11th-biggest conglomerate by assets in the past 18 years, with his mother, Lee Myung-hee, serving as chairwoman of the group. Lee will remain in management as general chairwoman, the statement said.

Faced with growing challenges from local e-commerce giant Coupang and Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba's Aliexpress and PDD Holdings' Temu, Shinsegae appears to badly need to strengthen its existing businesses and explore new growth drivers.

Coupang posted record sales of 31.8 trillion won ($24 billion) in 2023, up nearly 20 percent from 26.5 trillion won a year ago.

In contrast, Shinsegae reported combined sales of 35.8 trillion won in the department store and discount store businesses, down 3.5 percent, or more than 1 trillion won, from 37.1 trillion won during the same period.

The group's finalized earnings figures, which include sales from its small affiliates, will be available in May, the company said. (Yonhap)