KT (030200.KS) announced Wednesday that outside director Cho Seung-ah has resigned due to disqualification grounds under the Commercial Act. The company said Cho concurrently served as an outside director at Hyundai Steel, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, KT's largest shareholder, creating a conflict of interest.
Cho was appointed as a KT outside director in June 2023 on Hyundai Motor's recommendation, and later named as an outside director at Hyundai Steel in March last year. At the time, Hyundai Motor was not KT's largest shareholder, so the concurrent appointments posed no issue.
However, in September of the same year, the National Pension Service sold its KT stake, elevating Hyundai Motor to the position of largest shareholder. The dual role then became grounds for disqualification of an outside director under the Commercial Act. KT's board, including Cho, recently became aware of the issue and decided on her resignation Wednesday.
