Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, the eldest son of former Chairman and current CEO S. R. Cho, has officially taken the helm of the Korean textile giant as of Monday.

The 49-year-old chairman, who was promoted to the top post on Dec. 29, had an inauguration ceremony at the company’s head office in Mapo, Seoul, after paying respects to the late Hyosung founder Cho Hong-jai at his grave in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the company said.
 

The handover of power from Hyosung’s second generation to the third coincided with the anniversary of the late founder’s death and the junior Cho’s birthday.

When promoted from president to chairman late last year due to the senior Cho’s resignation as a result of health problems, Cho Hyun-joon had vowed to nurture Hyosung into a global power through “fair play based on sportsmanship.”

Cho is reportedly a huge fan of baseball who attends the company’s weekly baseball club. Bu applying the winning rules of baseball to management, he seeks the harmony of individual competitiveness and team work, the company has said.

Hyosung Group’s businesses range from textile to industrial systems, chemicals, trading and construction.

Since the junior Cho became president of the group in 2007 to lead the group’s textile business, Hyosung’s earnings have seen continuous annual growth.

Hyosung’s sales grew to 12.45 trillion won ($10.5 billion) in 2015 from a year earlier, with operating profit surging to 950 billion won from 600 billion won during the same period, according to the company’s public regulatory filing.

Analysts said its operating profit might have surpassed 1 trillion won in 2016.

About 40 percent of the group’s profits come from the textile business. Hyosung is the world’s largest spandex maker, with its products taking up about 32 percent of the global market share.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)