British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea has named Kim Eui-soung as its new CEO, replacing Matthieu Juery, The Korea Times reported.

As the first Korean to become CEO of BAT Korea, Kim will be responsible for managing operations as well as leading both domestic and international businesses. Under Kim's leadership, BAT Korea aims to implement a strong corporate culture by addressing the sophisticated needs of Korean customers and diversifying the company's product portfolio, the report said. "I'm honoured to serve as CEO of BAT Korea with a great team full of passion and commitment for growth," Kim was quoted as saying. "With extensive industrial experience both in consumer goods and consumer healthcare, I will bring a positive change to escalation in market position by proactively investing and carefully serving the needs of consumers in the fast-changing domestic tobacco market which the world has its eyes on."
According to the report, Kim joined BAT Korea in 2008 as area manager and was later promoted to various positions in trade marketing. He is best known for launching the KENT brand in Korea in 2010.
He has more than 20 years of work experience in various industries, including food and beverages and pharmaceuticals. He previously worked at Nestle Korea, Pepsi Korea and Boehringer Ingelheim Korea.