Dongbu Group Chairman Kim Jun-ki resigned from his post on Thursday, about two weeks after being sued by his former secretary for sexual harassment.

“I formally resign from the chief positions at Dongbu Group and affiliates out of judgment that my personal conduct should not be a burden to the company,” the 72-year-old chairman said in a statement. “I apologize for upsetting our shareholders, customers and everyone at the Dongbu Group.”

Early last week, his former 30-something secretary sued Kim over sexual harassment, the police announced on Tuesday. The secretary claimed that Kim had sexually harassed her repeatedly between February and July this year.

As his successor, the group appointed Lee Keun-young, former head of the Financial Supervisory Service and adviser to Dongbu Insurance Co. Lee served as a public official in the National Tax Service and Finance Ministry and headed Korea Investment Management Co., Korea Development Bank and most recently the Financial Supervisory Service.

Lee’s ties with Dongbu began in 2008 when he served as the outside director of Dongbu Metal and Dongbu Life Insurance. He was named the outside director of Dongbu Insurance in 2010 and its advisor in 2013. Lee’s appointment is regarded as being in line with the group’s recent focus on its financial arms, including insurance, securities and banking.

Dongbu Group is expected to leave the management of affiliates to professional chief executives while shifting more weight to the former chairman’s son Kim Nam-ho, managing director of Dongbu Finance Research Center.

“There is no need for succession efforts in the case of Kim Nam-ho as he already holds the largest stake in the group,” said a senior official at Dongbu Group, adding that he expects Kim to stay committed to his present post for the time being.

Kim Nam-ho currently holds an 18.59 percent stake in Dongbu Inc., which controls the manufacturing units, and a 9.01 percent stake in Dongbu Insurance, the de-facto holding company for the financial affiliates. His shares are larger than those of his father, who owns 12.37 percent and 5.94 percent in the two firms, respectively.

By Song Sung-hoon and Lee Dong-in

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