Shinsegae Group announced that it appointed Chung Yoo-kyung as Chairman of Shinsegae Inc. on Oct. 30. With this promotion, the group will officially split Emart, its supermarket division, and Shinsegae Inc., the department store division, into two separate entities.
South Korea’s leading retail group took a major step toward formally dividing its business divisions by naming Chung as Chairman through its 2025 executive reshuffle. Her promotion comes nine years after she was appointed to head Shinsegae Department Store in 2015.
Chung is the eldest daughter of Shinsegae Group Chairman Lee Myung-hee and the younger sister of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, who oversees the supermarket division.
Shinsegae Group explained that this reshuffle is aimed at strengthening responsible management and laying the foundation for the official separation of the two divisions.” We are separating Shinsegae into two main pillars—the department store division and the Emart division—to pursue strategic growth,” a company representative said. “This appointment is the starting point in bringing together resources to ensure a seamless separation of affiliates.” The group did not specify precisely when the two affiliates will be separated.
The groundwork for this division was initially set in 2011 when group Chairman Lee Myung-hee divided the company into Emart and the department store businesses and appointed her son and daughter to head each business. In 2019, the group created separate department store and Emart divisions to function as de facto holding companies for the two businesses.
Under the current governance structure, the brother and sister are the largest shareholders of Shinsegae Group, each holding an 18.56% stake in both Emart and Shinsegae Inc. Chairman Lee has a 10% stake in each company.
Shinsegae Group stated that given its recent earnings turnaround by restoring competitiveness in core businesses, the time has come to initiate the formal separation of affiliates.
