Yonhap appoints Cho Sung-boo new president, CEO

SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday appointed Cho Sung-boo, a veteran journalist and its former chief editorial writer, as its new president and chief executive officer on Wednesday. Cho, 61, was tapped to head South Korea's leading newswire service earlier this month by the Korea News Agency Commission (KONAC), its largest stakeholder. His appointment was approved during a regular shareholders' meeting at the company's headquarters in central Seoul on Wednesday. The new CEO will start his three-year term with an inauguration ceremony later in the day. He started his career at Tongyang News Agency in 1978, two years before Yonhap was established through a merger of Tongyang and other major news agencies. He worked for Yonhap for about 30 years as a correspondent in Buenos Aires and Bangkok, business editor and chief editorial writer. He served as a KONAC board member from 2014 to 2017. He also chaired the Journalist Association of Korea from 1998 to 1999. Yonhap also announced the appointment of other new executives. Lee Byung-ro, a former managing editor, was named as executive vice president. Kim Jin-hyung, former head of its Global Korea Center, was appointed as managing director in charge of international affairs and business, and Lee Ki-chang, former head of the company's Planning and Coordination Department, was appointed as managing director for management strategy. odissy@yna.co.kr (END)