Why did KLPGA decide to re-elect Chairman Kim Sang-yeol
Feb 18, 2025
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Hoban Group Chairman Kim Sang-yeol was elected as the 15th chairman of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA).
KLPGA held its first board meeting in 2025 at the KLPGA Building in Gangdong-gu, Seoul on the 17th and voted on major agendas such as business reports and plans, approval of budget settlement, and matters related to the 15th chairman.
Among them, the most interesting thing was who would become the new chairman. As a result, it was concluded that Chairman Kim Sang-yeol, who served as the 13th chairman, will lead the KLPGA as head again.
Chairman Kim Sang-yeol served as the 13th chairman from 2017 to 2021, before handing over the 14th chairman to the current chairman, Kim Jung-tae, former chairman of Hana Financial Group. During Kim Sang-yeol's presidency, KLPGA faced the era of 'Renaissance'. It was a KLPGA that faced a revival with the emergence of superstars such as Park Sung-hyun, Ko Jin-young, and Jeon In-ji, because of the momentum, the remarkable external expansion was achieved with the active investment of Chairman Kim Sang-yeol. In fact, in the 2019 season, it was the first time in KLPGA history that the total prize money was 2.5 billion won.
In addition to the first part of the tour, he also invested in the second part of the Dream Tour and the senior part of the Champions Tour. In the name of Hoban Construction, various competitions were held, empowering players who tried in the dark.
But why did Chairman Kim Sang-yeol, who left after a successful four-year term, come back. In the end, it can be interpreted that KLPGA also recognized that the current golf market is in crisis and realized that it needs a leader in leadership to overcome this difficult situation.
Although KLPGA's popularity remains, the decline in the golf base due to the economic downturn and the investor sentiment of companies are extremely shrinking. A shocking situation occurred in which Hanwha Classic, a major competition, gave up hosting the competition. Four competitions, including Hanwha Classic, have been abolished. There will be no problems with the operation of this season due to new sponsorship contracts and maintaining total prize money, but if we leave our hands like this, we needed a solution because of the crisis that the KLPGA stage could be directly hit by the recent decline in a short time.
Regarding the appointment of the 15th chairman, Chairman Kim Jung-tae, the current chairman, reportedly actively recommended Chairman Kim Sang-yeol as the next chairman. It meant that Chairman Kim Sang-yeol was the only right reliever. All directors also unanimously decided to re-elect Chairman Kim Sang-yeol.
Chairman Kim Sang-yeol decided to take the chairmanship once again after several tests for the development of the Korean golf industry and the sustainable growth of the KLPGA despite the difficult environment both internally and externally.
Chairman Kim Sang-yeol earned a master's degree from Chonnam National University's Graduate School of Business, an honorary doctorate in business administration from Konkuk University, and is an entrepreneur who grew Hoban Construction into a Hoban Group after starting in 1989.
Meanwhile, Chairman Kim Sang-yeol will officially take office as the 15th chairman after an official appointment process at the '2025 KLPGA Regular General Meeting' to be held on the 20th of next month.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
