WONIK Group, a semiconductor equipment and materials corporation with annual sales of 2.5 trillion won, has officially embarked on the second-generation management.
Under the leadership of founder Lee Yong-han (71), his three children are holding key positions in the core affiliates of the group. The chairman's eldest son, Lee Gyu-yeop (42), executive vice president of Wonik QnC, and his second son, Lee Gyu-min (38), managing director of Wonik IPS, are executives in the core affiliates engaged in semiconductor equipment and materials. His youngest daughter, Lee Min-kyung (36), the representative of Carelabs, is in charge of the group's healthcare business.
Last year, the group restructured its governance, centering on the three children, accelerating the succession to the second generation of the Lee family. This marks 43 years since the chairman founded WONIK in 1981.
◇ Semiconductor equipment and materials serve as dual pillars… Ranked 87th in the business world
WONIK is ranked 87th in the business world, with total assets reaching 5.31 trillion won. Last year, it became the first to be listed among the designated public companies by the Fair Trade Commission.
WONIK Group began with the establishment of WONIK Trading (now WONIK) by Lee Yong-han in 1981. Originally a trading company, WONIK Trading entered the semiconductor parts business in 1985 after acquiring the quartz manufacturing company, Korea QMI. It succeeded in domestically producing quartz, which had been reliant on imports, supplying companies like Samsung Electronics, while also acquiring corporations involved in semiconductor equipment.
Currently, WONIK has core affiliates including Wonik IPS, a semiconductor deposition equipment manufacturer; Wonik QnC, which produces and processes quartz for semiconductors; Wonik Materials, which manufactures special gases for semiconductors and displays; and WONIK PNE, which focuses on battery equipment.
As of 2023, Wonik QnC reported sales of 805.9 billion won and an operating profit of 82.9 billion won. During the same period, Wonik IPS had sales of 690.3 billion won, an operating loss of 18 billion won; Wonik Materials achieved sales of 391.6 billion won and an operating profit of 24.6 billion won; while WONIK PNE recorded sales of 306.8 billion won and an operating profit of 2.8 billion won.
After transitioning to a holding company structure in 2016, WONIK restructured its governance last year, centering on the chairman and his three children. Uniquely, while the holding company system typically has the holding company at the top of the governance structure, in the case of WONIK, there is another governing entity above WONIK Holdings. In August of last year, the largest shareholder of WONIK was changed from the chairman to Horizon Capital, of which the chairman and his three children hold 100% equity. This established a governance structure that flows from "the Lee family → Horizon → WONIK → holding company WONIK Holdings → core affiliates."
Horizon has equity holdings of 26.67% each by the chairman, Lee Gyu-yeop, and Lee Gyu-min, while Lee Min-kyung holds 20%. The market speculates that the second-generation management of WONIK is officially taking shape, with the chairman also holding 18.1% of WONIK Holdings.
◇ Two sons manage semiconductor equipment and materials, while the daughter handles healthcare
The involvement of the second-generation Lee family in group management has been since 2020. The chairman's eldest son, executive vice president Lee Gyu-yeop of Wonik QnC, joined the board of Horizon in 2020. He has since served as the head of the overseas sales team at Wonik Materials, and the head of ceramic development sales at Wonik QnC, and currently holds the position of head of the global operations center at Wonik QnC.
The youngest son, Lee Gyu-min, managing director of Wonik IPS, gained experience at Samsung Venture Investment and joined WONIK HOLDINGS in 2022 as the head of investment strategy. He later moved to WONIK IPS as the head of business planning.
The youngest daughter, CEO Lee Min-kyung, transitioned from her role as head of mergers and acquisitions at WONIK HOLDINGS' strategy headquarters to become the Chief Strategy Officer of Carelabs, a mobile healthcare and beauty care platform company acquired in 2023. In January of this year, she was appointed CEO of Carelabs. Unlike her two older brothers, who work in semiconductor equipment and materials at the group's core affiliates, she is focusing on the healthcare sector. Carelabs recorded sales of 81.8 billion won and an operating loss of 11.5 billion won in 2023.
The business community anticipates that the chairman's eldest and second sons will lead WONIK's semiconductor equipment and materials businesses, while his daughter will manage the healthcare sector.
WONIK also faces challenges, particularly the decline in performance of its core affiliate, Wonik IPS. It reported an operating loss of 18 billion won for 2023, following a loss of 15.3 billion won on a cumulative basis for the third quarter of last year. While Wonik QnC is profitable, the growth rate of its performance is slowing.
Share prices are also declining. The stock price of Wonik IPS fell from 41,500 won on March 29 last year to 21,600 won on February 5 this year. The stock of Wonik QnC closed at 18,160 won on the 5th. Compared to surpassing 40,000 won in June last year, this represents a significant drop.
One securities analyst noted, "Wonik IPS relies on Samsung for about 70-80% of its business. While it grew in the past by increasing orders from Samsung, it is now difficult to sustain growth by relying solely on Samsung.” He further stated, “The dependence on Samsung also applies to Wonik QnC and Wonik Materials, so diversifying clients is necessary.”