Summary
Huh Chang-soo, chairman of GS E&C and honorary chairman of GS, was born in 1948 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, as the eldest of five sons of Huh Joon-koo, the honorary chairman of LG Construction. His grandfather is Huh Man-jung, a co-founder of LG Group. His brothers include Huh Jung-Soo, Chairman of GS Neotek; Huh Jin-soo, standing advisor of GS Caltex; Huh Myung-soo, standing advisor of GS E & C; and Huh Tae-soo, chairman of GS Group.
He graduated from Gyeongnam High School in 1967 and earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Korea University in 1972. He furthered his education by obtaining a master’s degree in Business Administration from Saint Louis University in the United States. Huh Chang-soo began his career at LG Group in 1977 as the head of the Personnel Department in the Planning and Coordination Office. He later moved to LG International Corporation in 1982, serving as the senior manager of the Hong Kong branch, and was promoted to director in 1984. In 1986, he transferred to the Tokyo branch, where he worked as an executive managing director until 1988. In 1989, he was appointed as the vice president of LG Chem, holding various roles in LG from 1992 to 1995, including executive director at LG International, vice president at LG Chem and LG Industrial Systems, and chairman of LG Cable.
In 2002, Huh Chang-soo became the chairman of LG Construction (now GS Construction). Following the separation from LG Group in 2004, he established the holding company GS Holdings and launched GS Group in 2005, focusing on energy, retail, and construction businesses. Under his leadership, GS Group grew from a conglomerate with 23 trillion won in sales, 18 trillion won in assets, and 15 affiliates in 2004, to 68 trillion won in sales, 63 trillion won in assets, and 64 affiliates by the end of the following year. His efforts led to a more than tripling in size of the group and establishing strong competitiveness in its three core businesses.
Huh Chang-soo served as the chairman of GS Group until December 2019, when he handed over the chairmanship to his youngest brother, Huh Tae-soo, and retired as honorary chairman. He also held the position of chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (formerly the Federation of Korean Economic Organizations) from February 2011 to March 2023, serving for 12 years.
Timeline
▲ October 1948 = Born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province.
▲ 1967 = Graduated from Gyeongnam High School.
▲ 1972 = Graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Korea University.
▲ 1977 = Completed an MBA at Saint Louis University, U.S.
▲ 1977 = Joined LG Group’s Planning Coordination Office as a manager in the personnel department.
▲ 1979 = Head of the Overseas Planning Office at LG International Corporation.
▲ 1982 = Moved to LG International’s Hong Kong branch as a senior manager.
▲ 1984 = Promoted to director.
▲ 1986 - 1988 = Executive managing director at LG International’s Tokyo branch.
▲ 1989 = Vice President at LG Chem.
▲ 1992 - 1995 = Vice President at LG CNS.
▲ 1995 = Chairman of LG Cable (later known as LS Cable & System).
▲ 1998 = Club owner of Anyang LG Cheetahs (which later became FC Seoul in 2004).
▲ 2002 = Chairman of LG Construction.
▲ 2004 = Chairman of GS Group.
▲ 2005 = Chairman and CEO of GS Construction.
▲ 2006 = Established the J K Huh Foundation and became its chairman.
▲ 2007 = Received an honorary doctorate in business administration from Saint Louis University.
▲ 2009 = Joined the vice-chairmanship of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).
▲ 2011 -2023 = Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries.
▲ 2019 = Stepped down as the chairman of GS Group.
