Socar will reinstate former CEO Lee Jae-woong as board chair and carry out an organisational overhaul. Lee will return as board chair after 6 years, while CEO Park Jae-uk focuses on new autonomous driving businesses. Industry officials said on Dec. 31 that Socar held a town hall meeting at its Seongdong-gu office on Dec. 29 and shared plans for restructuring and a leadership reshuffle.

Socar will restart a two-track leadership structure led by Park and Lee. The overhaul is driven by the view that AI and autonomous driving mark a turning point for the mobility market. Socar sees the next 2 to 3 years as the final period for South Korea's mobility ecosystem to build independent competitiveness.

It is also a preemptive move to break through a stagnant share price since its listing and to revive growth momentum in its car-sharing business. The strategy is to draw again on the two leaders' experience in driving growth at Socar and Tada after VCNC joined Socar in 2018.

Park will step down as board chair and, as CEO, will take charge of future businesses including autonomous-driving car-sharing and robotaxis. Lee, as the largest shareholder, will return as board chair and oversee strengthening competitiveness in the core car-sharing business and innovating customer experience. A Socar official said he will also be responsible for shoring up fundamentals, including improving organisational culture, boosting AI-based productivity and improving profitability.

At the town hall, Park said, "This is the golden time that will decide Socar's future." He said, "Autonomous driving and robotaxis with AI technology have become a reality that will determine the future of mobility." He added, "Starting today, with the resolve of founding a new company, I will take responsibility for the future mobility segment, including autonomous-driving car-sharing and robotaxis, and lead from the front."

On Lee's return, he said, "We earnestly asked the largest shareholder and former CEO Lee Jae-woong, who understands Socar's innovation DNA better than anyone, to return as board chair."

Socar produced results this year from restructuring its business. It extended the average vehicle holding period to 4 years from 3 years to reduce depreciation costs. It raised utilisation to 39.1 percent through data-based vehicle reallocation. That exceeds the average of 34.4 percent over the previous 3 years. In the third quarter, it achieved operating profit for a fifth consecutive quarter. Revenue per vehicle rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.71 million won. Lee is set to return as board chair following appropriate procedures.