Ten weeks after the decease of B.S. Park, [ds_preview]the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) elected a new chairman and CEO.
Lee Jeong-kie was appointed by the recent extraordinary meeting of KR’s general assembly, the classification said in a statement. Lee assumes the role of Chairman and CEO, following the death of Mr. B. S. Park, who passed away after a short illness in October 2016.
According to KR, this is only the second time in the 56 years of its history that an internal candidate has been appointed as Chairman and CEO. Lee has worked for KR for 29 years, most recently as executive vice president of the survey division. He graduated from Busan National University with a bachelor‘s degree in naval architecture and started his career as QC at Korea Shipbuilding Public Corporation in 1978. He later joined shipbuilding conglomerate Daewoo (DSME) where he worked as QC until 1987.
In 1987, Lee joined KR, and has held various senior management positions including country manager in Singapore and executive vice president in charge of the technical division and statutory division.
The new chairman »has extensive field survey experience and has contributed significantly to the enhancement of KR’s global port state control response. He has also played a key role in increasing KR’s global scope, gaining important authorizations to provide statutory services on behalf of shipping and maritime organizations, particularly in Germany and Canada«, it was added.
On being elected he said: »KR is facing many challenges following the prolonged downturn of the shipping and shipbuilding industries, and as a result of the liberalization of classification services in Korea. I am keen to support and enhance our services under these conditions«. One of his goals is to explore the expansion of business services through diversification.
Established in 1960, the Korean Register is an IACS member classification society and currently classes an international fleet of 3,039 vessels totalling 69 million GT.
