Cho Il, the newly appointed CEO of KT Skylife, has been asked to resign by KT headquarters, it has been confirmed. The move comes just three days after he was named president and CEO at the company's annual general meeting on March 26. KT is expected to announce the matter at its own annual general meeting scheduled for March 31.
According to telecom industry sources on March 30, Cho received a contract termination notice from KT headquarters on the afternoon of March 27 and cleared out his office the same day. The decision was reversed just one day after he was appointed president and CEO at KT Skylife's annual general meeting on March 26.
Some observers interpret the move as an effort to improve management transparency and minimize internal conflict in subsidiary personnel decisions ahead of the launch of the new leadership under Park Yun-young, KT's incoming chief executive officer.
Cho, who had served as KT Skylife's chief financial officer before his appointment, had faced internal opposition even before his promotion. The KT Skylife branch of the National Union of Media Workers had claimed that Cho was ultimately responsible for a failed 10 billion won investment in Hogak in 2024 and was also implicated in allegations of funneling contracts to retired executives.
The company denied both allegations. "The Hogak investment was a strategic decision, not an act of breach of trust, and the selection of the internet router supplier was conducted transparently through competitive bidding," the company said, adding that it was "reviewing legal action."
However, as the controversy grew, a tip was filed with KT's compliance committee earlier this month, and Cho had reportedly been under an audit by headquarters until recently.
A KT Skylife official said on the same day, "The resignation has not been officially confirmed. We understand that a group-wide organizational restructuring and personnel reshuffle is coming soon, and matters related to our company are expected to be decided afterward."
The KT Skylife labor union said it does not oppose the resignation itself but expressed concern that "the controlling shareholder's intervention in management is excessive." A union official said, "We will hold headquarters and the rubber-stamp board of directors officially accountable for creating a management vacuum at a critical time when CEO Cho's various corruption allegations and responsibilities should have been investigated." The official added, "We are concerned that behind-closed-doors personnel decisions may be repeated once again."
Meanwhile, it was confirmed that on the same day KT notified Cho of his dismissal, it also terminated the contract of Won Heung-jae, CEO of KT HCN, a KT subsidiary. Won, who took office in December 2023, had seen his term expire in December last year, and it remained undecided whether the "2+1" system — which grants an additional one-year term after a two-year appointment — would be applied.
The KT HCN labor union, however, said it would not issue a separate statement. A union official said, "CEO Won was a former marketing executive from KT who knew nothing about the cable broadcasting industry and set the company back over two years of management." The official added, "We have been holding picket protests since this month demanding opposition to his reappointment and calling for a new president, so we welcome the contract termination itself."