South Korea’s top wireless carrier and telecom giant KT Corp. is embroiled in a controversy over the shortlist of four candidates that will have an interview for the new chief executive position as they are all former or current KT officials.

KT recently named four candidates ? two former and two current executives at KT ? for an interview to become the new CEO. They were selected by an advisory panel consisting of five experts including Kwon Oh-kyong, former president of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, set up by the KT board. The final four were among the 33 candidates that included 15 from the in house and 18 from outside,

“We chose the finalists based on a fair, transparent, and objective process,” said Kang Chung-gu, chairman of the KT’s board.

The ruling party, however, is raising questions about the fairness and transparency in the appointment.

“There are rumors that the government is supporting a certain candidate, which are not true,” said an unnamed official from the ruling party. “The government, however, believes that it is not appropriate for the current corporate leadership to select their aides as a successor in an attempt to exercise influence on the company.”

The official noted that the board ruled out outside candidates even though 18 from a wide range of sectors applied. Only four KT officials were given the opportunity for an interview.

By Woo Je-yoon, Lee Jae-cheol, and Han Yubin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]