South Korean tycoon heirs' wives increasingly assume leadership roles in conglomerates

South Korea’s conglomerates, traditionally family-run and operated within tightly knit circles, are progressively embracing the idea of entrusting significant management roles to the wives of their heirs.

According to The Korea Times, the construction conglomerate Hoban Group recently appointed Kim Min Hyung, the 30-year-old daughter-in-law of the company’s founder Kim Sang Yeol, as an executive responsible for the company’s social contribution initiatives within the communications department.

Kim Min Hyung married Kim Dae Heon, the eldest son of the founder and the president of planning at Hoban Group, in Dec. 2020. During her four-year marriage, she has actively promoted Hoban’s social projects through her social media platforms.

Before her marriage, Kim Min Hyung was employed on a temporary basis at broadcaster MBC from 2016 to 2018, and later at broadcaster SBS until 2020. Her in-laws’ Hoban Group is ranked as the 33rd-largest business group in South Korea by assets.

The appointment of Kim Min Hyung is reflective of a broader trend among South Korean tycoon heirs’ wives, who are taking on active roles as executives within their in-laws’ companies. Historically, most of these women have served as housewives or held less visible positions, such as overseeing family-owned museums. Many among them only assumed leadership of their in-laws’ conglomerates following the premature deaths of their husbands.

Examples of this traditional role include Roh Soh Yeong, the 63-year-old estranged wife of Chey Tae Won, chairperson of SK Group—South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, which operates in sectors like energy, chemicals, telecommunications, semiconductors, and biopharmaceuticals—w ho manages the Seoul-based Art Center Nabi.

Another example is Hyundai Group’s chairwoman Hyun Jeong Eun, 69, who took over the company in 2003 following the death of her husband Chung Mong Hun. Chung Mong Hun was the former chairman of the company, who inherited it from his father, Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju Yung, in 1998, as reported by The Korea Herald.

Chairwoman Lee Auh Ryung, 71, of Daishin Financial Group is another case. Formerly a housewife, she assumed leadership at Daishin Securities and the group’s smaller affiliates after her husband Yang Hye Moon’s death in 2004.

Yang Hye Moon was the second-generation leader of Daishin, following his father and the firm’s founder Yang Jae Bong.

This increasing involvement of daughters-in-law is further illustrated by Kim Jung Soo, the 59-year-old daughter-in-law of the company’s late founder Chun Joong Yoon who was appointed vice chairman and CEO of Samyang Roundsquare in September last year. Initially a housewife, Kim Jung Soo joined the company in 1998 and assumed co-management with her husband Chun In Jang in 2010.

After being convicted of embezzling company funds in 2020, she and her husband temporarily stepped down from their executive roles and returned a year later. Upon her return, she spearheaded the development of the super-spicy instant noodles, which was eventually named Buldak and quickly rose to international fame.

The concept for the product emerged when Kim Jung Soo and her daughter dined at a restaurant renowned for its spicy offerings in 2010. Despite their inability to tolerate the heat, Kim Jung Soo perceived a potential market for an even spicier ramen, she shared with the Wall Street Journal.

Following its launch, the product quickly gained popularity in South Korea before making a successful entry into the U.S. market. It had even become one of Walmart’s top-selling premium instant noodles brands.

"Most Korean companies, such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, are led by male heirs, but Vice Chairman Kim [Jung Soo] stands out for revitalizing the company as a daughter-in-law," highlighted the Wall Street Journal in its report.