Bok-In Baek was appointed Chief Executive Officer of KT&G Corporation at the 34th annual general meeting held on March 19th at the company’s Human Resources Development Institute in Daejeon city.

Mr. Baek will lead KT&G for another term of 3 years as he was appointed as the company CEO at the meeting.

Bok-In Baek was the first to join KT&G through open recruitment (Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation at the time) and climb all the way up the ladder to become CEO, cultivating a wide variety of experiences on his way as he took on many key roles in the company’s core businesses including strategy, marketing, global business, manufacturing and R&D during his 29 years at the organization since 1993.

The CEO focused on the growth of the company’s global business, expanding coverage in the global stage to over 100 countries and executing a massive export agreement of KRW 2.2 trillion over the course of 7 years with a middle-eastern importer to usher in an era of KRW 5 trillion in revenue for the first time in the corporation’s history. He has also made significant accomplishments during his previous term including the execution of the export agreement on KT&G’s heat-not-burn product ‘lil’ with Philip Morris International (PMI), a global industry player.

Mr. Baek is known to be an expert on the hands-on tasks with a deep understanding of the industry that comes from his extensive experience in the field domestically and globally. His strong suits are his planning capabilities that tailor new management theories to specific market situations as demonstrated in his ‘ambidextrous management’ that allowed for the two pillars of the company, conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes, to grow at the same time and his ability to swiftly carry forward projects that led to the successful expansion of KT&G’s global business in a short timeframe.

“I feel a great sense of responsibility in leading the organization amid a management environment of growing uncertainties across the world”, “With further sophistication of the overseas business, KT&G will establish a strong foothold as a global corporation, and I will devote myself to seeking a new growth engine through business diversification. I will also do my utmost to create social values based on ESG management.” said Mr. Baek.

Meanwhile, the company’s Chief of Strategy & Planning Headquarters Kyung Man Bang was appointed as an executive director at the general meeting. For the position of independent non-executive director, former CEO of SK Materials Min-Kyu Lim was newly appointed, and Jong-Soo Baek, former chief prosecutor of the Busan District Prosecutor’s Office was reappointed as auditor and non-executive director.