Korea Railroad Corporation has appointed the first female CEO: Choi Yeonhye (57), professor at the Graduate School of Transportation of University of Transportation.
On October 2, Professor Choi officially began working as the CEO after attending her inauguration ceremony held at the Railroad Twin Tower in Daejeon. In her inauguration speech, she expressed concern, saying “Worldwide rail renaissance is underway. The goal of connecting the two Koreas’ railway systems and stretching it further as transcontinental railway is closer than ever to becoming a reality. However, Korail’s business has been crumbling, accumulating 14 trillion won in debt (debt ratio recording 244%) at the end of last year.” She promised that “Korail will fulfill its responsibilities of creating hope for a happy life for everyone through the united help of 35,000 employees.” She also laid out business objectives such as operating in the black by establishing sustainable management system and management efficiency; safety-first management based on state-of-the-art technology; creative management that contributes to happiness of everyone; and bringing forth new culture of cooperation and co-prosperity in the public enterprise.
She graduated from Daejeon Girls’ High School and studied German language and literature at Seoul National University. She acquired Ph.D. in business management at the University of Mannheim, Germany. She served as the vice president of Korail, president of University of Transportation, and president of International Association of Transport Universities.
