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Fading fortunes of female chiefs at Hyundai Merchant, Hanjin Shipping
By Shin Ji-hyePublished : May 3, 2016 - 17:36
There is another thing in common between the two shipping giants. They were led by female leaders, who suddenly transformed into chairwomen from housewives after the deaths of their husbands.
Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, 61, who stepped down from the HMM board of directors in March, began to run the conglomerate in 2003 when her husband Chung Mong-hun -- fifth son of Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung -- died.
Choi Eun-yeong, 54, who has recently come under investigation for dubious stock trading, took over the top position in the Hanjin shipping unit in 2007 after her husband died in 2006. She is the wife of the late Cho Soo-ho, whose older brother is current Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho.
Both of them, although born to elite families, were housewives before jumping into the business. Hyun’s father is Hyun Young-eun, former chairman of Hyundai Merchant Marine and founder of Shinhan Merchant Marine, which was later merged into Hyundai Merchant Marine. Choi was born to Shin Jung-sook, who is the younger sister of Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho, and former NK Group chairman Choi Hyun-yeol.
The two women have recently stepped down from their positions. But Hyun still keeps her chairwoman title.
Choi handed the company over to Cho Yang-ho in 2014 as business conditions worsened. She was seen as the main culprit responsible for the company’s financial trouble, as she had reportedly pushed for signing contracts to borrow ships when the cost was high. As a result, the company is still paying around 1 trillion won per year, five times higher than the current market price.
Hyun’s Hyundai Group has also been greatly downsized over the past decade. The group sold its main subsidiaries Hyundai Logistics and Hyundai Securities.
The group, which vied for the No. 1 position in the early 2000s with Samsung, has now been pushed back to the nation’s 30th-largest conglomerate.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@herladcorp.com)
