2026년 자동차 업계의 변화: 신규 사외이사 20명, 교수 출신이 대세!

[Green Economy News = Reporter Han Ik-jae] About 20 outside directors are expected to join the boards of South Korea’s 50 major automakers in line with March shareholder meetings, a survey shows. Many of the new directors come from academia, and roughly half are in their 60s. Three appointees are in their 40s. SL and Daewon Gangup lead the pack, each adding three new outside directors. Rather than appointing former cabinet‑level officials, automakers largely tapped corporate executives, professors and other industry experts for outside director roles.

The findings are based on a review of 30 listed companies in the domestic auto sector that had filed an “Board of Directors Convening Resolution” by the 13th of this month. The survey counted only first‑time outside directors and excluded any reappointments of prior outside directors.

Among the 30 companies reviewed, 13 appointed a total of 19 new outside directors. The average age of the new appointees was 59.2. Ten (52.6%) were in their 60s, five (26.3%) were in their 50s, three (15.8%) were in their 40s, and one was in his 70s.

Three companies—SL, Daewon Gangup and Daechang Forging—added outside directors in their 40s this year. SL named Bae Seong‑ho (48), a professor in the Business Administration Department at Kyungpook National University. Daewon Gangup tapped Lee Woo‑jin (49), a professor in the Business Administration Department at Kookmin University. Daechang Forging brought on Park Kyu‑taek (49), an attorney at Sejin Law Firm who also holds credentials as a certified tax accountant and a patent attorney.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Sambo Motors appointed a septuagenarian. The company added Lee Jung‑hee (71), former vice president of Keimyung University, to its board.

SL and Daewon Gangup each added three outside directors, the most among the companies surveyed. SL’s new directors are Bae Seong‑ho of Kyungpook National University, Joo Woo‑jin (66), dean of DGIST’s Graduate School of Technology Management, and Oh Chung‑hyun (63), managing partner at Shinra Law Firm. Two of SL’s three appointees come from academia; one is a lawyer.

Daewon Gangup’s slate includes Lee Woo‑jin of Kookmin University, Baek Seung‑hoon (62), head of Centric Tax Corporation’s Gangnam Central office, and Ahn Jung‑yeon (51), a professor in KAIST’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department. Two of Daewon Gangup’s three additions are academics. Baek previously served as director of investigations at South Korea’s National Tax Service.

By background, academics made up the largest share of new appointees at 31.5%. In addition to the five names noted above, Wang Se‑myung, a professor of mechanical engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, was named a new outside director at NVH Korea.

Among current and former corporate executives appointed as outside directors were Park Hyun‑ju (59), former head of BNY Mellon Korea, who joined Kia’s board, and Lee Choong‑hoon (64), former head of the Korea Development Bank’s Yangsan branch, who became an outside director at Seongwoo Hitech. Choi Kwang‑soon (61), head of Duol’s China Business Division, joined Duol’s board, and Ko Jun‑hyung, former president and CEO of POSCO Research Institute, was named to DY Dukyang’s board. Ko currently serves as a visiting professor at Hanyang University’s College of Economics and Finance.

Roughly three of the new appointees come from legal careers—judges, prosecutors or attorneys. That group includes Oh Chung‑hyun and Park Kyu‑taek, as well as Hyeong Jin‑hwi of Class Han‑gyeol Law Firm. Hyeong, who formerly served as chief prosecutor at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office, was appointed as an outside director at Daewon Industry.

Of the 19 new outside directors covered by the survey, 16 (84.2%) were given three‑year terms; three were appointed to two‑year terms. All three outside directors appointed at Daewon Gangup have two‑year terms.