KOREA WHO
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CEO of Shinsegae DF
Lee Seock-koo
Longest-Serving Shinsegae CEO Leads Duty-Free Retreat
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Last Updated on Apr 23, 2026
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CEO of Shinsegae DF
Life Summary
Lee Seock-koo is the CEO of Shinsegae DF.
He was brought in as a firefighter to overcome the downturn in the duty-free industry and break the streak of losses.
He was born on June 18, 1949, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
He graduated from Seoul Dongsung High School and the Department of Business Administration at Yonsei University.
He began his career at Samsung C&T and worked as a director of planning and management at the company.
He later moved to Samsung Corning, where he served as a planning director and as a finance director at its Shenzhen, China subsidiary.
After joining Shinsegae Department Store as head of the support division for the department store business, he went on to serve as head of the support division for Shinsegae E-Mart before being appointed CEO of The Chosun Hotel in 2002.
He then moved to Starbucks Korea, where he served as CEO for 11 years, and also held positions as CEO of Shinsegae International’s Jaju business division, CEO of Shinsegae Department Store’s New Growth Promotion Committee, and CEO of Shinsegae Live Shopping.
He was appointed CEO of Shinsegae DF in October 2025.
Just one month after taking office, he decided on a partial withdrawal from Incheon Airport duty-free stores, focusing on improving business efficiency and restructuring.
While leading Starbucks Korea for more than 10 years, he became the first in the coffee industry to surpass KRW 1 trillion (US$ 719.4 million) in annual sales.
#ShinsegaeDF #LeeSeockkoo #DutyFreeIndustry #StarbucksKorea #RetailLeadership #CorporateTurnaround #IncheonAirport #KoreaBusiness #ExecutiveProfile #Shinsegae
He was brought in as a firefighter to overcome the downturn in the duty-free industry and break the streak of losses.
He was born on June 18, 1949, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
He graduated from Seoul Dongsung High School and the Department of Business Administration at Yonsei University.
He began his career at Samsung C&T and worked as a director of planning and management at the company.
He later moved to Samsung Corning, where he served as a planning director and as a finance director at its Shenzhen, China subsidiary.
After joining Shinsegae Department Store as head of the support division for the department store business, he went on to serve as head of the support division for Shinsegae E-Mart before being appointed CEO of The Chosun Hotel in 2002.
He then moved to Starbucks Korea, where he served as CEO for 11 years, and also held positions as CEO of Shinsegae International’s Jaju business division, CEO of Shinsegae Department Store’s New Growth Promotion Committee, and CEO of Shinsegae Live Shopping.
He was appointed CEO of Shinsegae DF in October 2025.
Just one month after taking office, he decided on a partial withdrawal from Incheon Airport duty-free stores, focusing on improving business efficiency and restructuring.
While leading Starbucks Korea for more than 10 years, he became the first in the coffee industry to surpass KRW 1 trillion (US$ 719.4 million) in annual sales.
#ShinsegaeDF #LeeSeockkoo #DutyFreeIndustry #StarbucksKorea #RetailLeadership #CorporateTurnaround #IncheonAirport #KoreaBusiness #ExecutiveProfile #Shinsegae