Preparing for Management Succession
The Kolon Group is preparing for the era of group management by a fourth-generation member from its founder’s family.
Recently, Kolon Global and real estate-sharing service company Libeto Inc. have decided to establish Libeto Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Kolon Global will hold a 65.2% stake in Libeto Pte. Ltd., which in turn will have a 92.1% equity in Libeto Inc. Libeto Pte. Ltd will carry out Libeto Inc.'s overseas business.
The CEO of Libeto Inc. is Lee Kyu-ho, a director of Kolon Corp., the Kolon Group’s holding company. Lee is also the eldest son of Lee Woong-yeol, chairman of the Kolon Group. In January, Libeto Inc. was spun off from Kolon House Vision, a subsidiary of Kolon Global, with capital of 1.5 billion won. In February, the company raised 14 billion won through the issuance of preferred convertible stocks. Kolon Global holds a 60% stake in Libeto Inc. and executive director Lee Kyu-ho, a 15% stake.
Lee Kyo-ho is highly likely to become Kolon Group’s next chairman as the group has the tradition of a group chairman handing over his managerial control to his eldest son. In fact, Lee, a great grandson of the group’s founder, has been trained to be the next chairman since joining Kolon Industries as a manager in 2012.
The Kolon Group has been seeking to expand its business, which is currently focused on textile, into other areas including biotechnology. The establishment of Libeto Pte. Ltd. is seen as a move in this direction.
The group is likely to launch a new business modeled after Airbnb or Uber as Libeto Inc. pursues a "shared economy" business.