New CEO of fixed-line giant KT takes office

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- A former communications minister was installed as new CEO of KT Corp. on Wednesday, filling a two-month managerial vacuum at South Korea's top fixed-line and broadband Internet operator.

Lee Suk-chae, 63, former minister of information and communications, replaced Nam
Joong-soo, who was forced to step down in November after being arrested on
bribery charges. KT's shareholders approved Lee's appointment earlier in the day.
Lee is the first bureaucrat-turned-CEO of KT since 2002 when the company was
privatized. Lee entered government in 1969 and served in several different posts
before being appointed information and communication minister in 1995.
The new CEO, nominated by KT's board in December, is expected to face an uphill
battle in helping KT find new sources of revenue in the saturated South Korean
telecommunications market, analysts say.
KT plans to apply for a merger with KTF later this month, a source said earlier
in the week. If the much-anticipated deal is approved, experts say the company
could see 20 billion won in sales by June.
KT controls 90 percent of South Korea's telephony services and more than half of
its 12 million broadband Internet subscribers, while KTF serves more than 40
percent of the country's mobile phone users.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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