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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] Choi Sung-won, vice chairman of Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co., took office as chairman in 2024 through regular executive appointments.
Choi Sung-won, CEO and vice chairman of Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co., took office as chairman through a regular executive reshuffle in 2024. It has been 10 years since the late former chairman Choi Soo-bu took over the post after he passed away in 2013. Raising Guangdong to one of the top five pharmaceutical companies based on sales with an unusual business perspective, he took office as chairman and plans to continue his past tradition and continue to innovate to lay the foundation for a 100-year company.
Choi, who graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Seoul National University and the Graduate School of Business Administration at Keio University in Japan, joined Kwangdong Pharmaceutical in 1992 as a new employee and took business classes for 20 years under his father, former president Choi. He is known to have worked in the working division and led the launch and marketing of Guangdong's flagship products such as 'Vita 500' and 'Kwangdong Corn Beard Tea'.
Choi will later serve as head of sales and vice president, before becoming the new CEO in 2013 following the former president's death and being promoted to vice chairman two years later. Choi took office in 2013 as the first year of management innovation and started to improve his constitution. He put down his "Choi's stubbornness," which focused on the herbal medicine business, and speeded up his business diversification around food and beverage.
As a result, Kwangdong Pharmaceutical's sales jumped about 40% from 332.6 billion won in 2012 the year before Choi took office to 468.3 billion won the following year. Guangdong, which has continued to grow since then, has exceeded 1 trillion won in sales for seven consecutive years (2015-2022). Sales reached 1.4131 trillion won last year, ranking fourth in terms of sales, following Yuhan Corp., GC Green Cross and Chong Kun Dang.
AlphaBIZ 폴 리(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
