[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee] With KT set to appoint CEO nominee Park Yoon-young (박윤영) at the end of this month, attention is focused on affiliate executive reshuffles. As major affiliates move one after another to replace their chiefs, the possibility of changes to business models is also being raised.

Industry sources said on March 13 that with KT's regular shareholders meeting scheduled for March 31, group-level personnel moves are accelerating. As Park is formally appointed at this week's meeting, affiliates are also preparing to welcome new leaders.

KT Skylife on March 11 tapped Cho Il (조일), executive vice president and head of management planning, as its next CEO. KT Skylife will put on the agenda at its March 26 shareholders meeting the appointment of Cho as an inside director and the appointment of 4 outside directors. KT Alpha on March 12 also named former SK StoA CEO Park Jung-min (박정민) as its next CEO. KT Alpha will appoint Park as new CEO at its March 27 shareholders meeting.

KT Millie’s Library, whose CEO Park Hyun-jin (박현진) has been tapped as an inside director at KT, has put on the agenda for its March 31 shareholders meeting a proposal to reappoint Park as an inside director. KT HCN, where former CEO Won Heung-jae’s (원흥재) term expired last year, is drawing attention to whether Won will receive another 1-year term under the '2+1' system.

As the pace of affiliate personnel moves quickens, attention is also focused on the group's future management direction. Attention is particularly on the next moves of KT insiders. Expectations are being observed that Park will take a firm grip and lead efforts to normalise the company after ups and downs including last year's small-payment incident.

Cho, also a long-time KT man, now faces the task of making a success of new businesses KT Skylife is pushing, including the artificial intelligence sports broadcasting platform 'Pochak'. Cho, a finance specialist, has been criticised by the labour union for making excessive investments in Pochak, and delivering results quickly is being cited as key to organisational stabilisation.

BC Card has also recently tapped former KT executive director Kim Young-woo (김영우) as its next CEO. It is the first change of BC Card president in 5 years. Kim has served as head of KT's global business development division, head of its global business division and head of its group management office. Industry watchers expect cooperation between KT and BC Card to strengthen, as Kim has finance experience considered essential for a card company chief and knows KT's organisation broadly.

With affiliate reshuffles under way, an internal group reorganisation is also expected to proceed quickly. Rival SK Telecom and LG Uplus have already completed their reorganisations and are pushing ahead with this year's business plans.

A person familiar with KT said, "I think it will be wrapped up within the second quarter, from listed companies to unlisted company appointments," adding, "In particular, headquarters (KT) may step up the pace further since its appointments have been delayed compared with rivals."

As KT has continued in recent years to reshape its group portfolio across content, media and finance, the industry's broad view is that this round of affiliate reshuffles will be more than simple CEO replacements and could become a signal for changes in business strategy.

With major media, content and commerce affiliates including KT Skylife, KT Alpha and KT Millie’s Library putting more weight behind expanding digital content and platform businesses, attention is focused on whether their cooperation structure will change. Some are also raising the possibility of a business reorganisation linking content production and distribution with commerce.

An industry official said, "This reshuffle could also lead to both a redefinition of roles within the group and a restructuring of business structure at the same time."