Who Is Lee Seung-chan, Chairman of Gyeryong Construction Industrial?
Even with revenue standing still, Gyeryong Construction Industrial's operating profit for the first quarter of this year (earnings from its core business) rose 31.1% year on year, while net profit grew 35.3%. It is the result of Chairman Lee Seung-chan, the founder's youngest son, reshaping the company around profit through selective contracting (a strategy of taking on only jobs that are calculated to be advantageous).
Chairman Lee was born in Daejeon on November 27, 1976, the only son and youngest of the nine children of Lee In-gu, founder of Gyeryong Construction Industrial. After graduating from Daejeon High School and the economics department of Yonsei University, he earned master's and doctoral degrees in architectural engineering from the graduate school of Chungnam National University. He began his career at Doosan Engineering & Construction before joining Gyeryong Construction Industrial as a director, serving as head of the management division and executive vice president in overall command before becoming CEO in 2014. He stepped down as CEO in 2023 and has since held the position of chairman.
The ranking and profit gains produced by selective contracting show up first in the rankings. In the construction capability assessment released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in July 2025, Gyeryong Construction Industrial placed 15th. Its ranking, 23rd in 2015, rose to 19th in 2022 and has been on an upward climb for four consecutive years, while its assessed construction capability nearly doubled, from 1.51 trillion won in 2017 to 2.98 trillion won in 2025. The company has climbed eight rungs in a decade.
The construction capability assessment is a system under which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport evaluates and publishes builders' track records, financial condition, technical capability and credibility every July; project owners use it to limit bidding. A higher ranking means wider business opportunities. Gyeryong Construction Industrial, which has long held the No. 1 spot among builders in the Chungcheong region, has not fallen out of the top 20 since 2016.
The quality of earnings has changed as well. Consolidated revenue of 670.7 billion won in the first quarter of 2026 was roughly level with a year earlier, but operating profit of 40.8 billion won and net profit of 22.4 billion won rose 31.1% and 35.3% respectively, pushing the operating margin into the 6% range. That said, contracted building work of 392.2 billion won and contracted civil engineering work of 173.8 billion won accounted for more than 84% of revenue, with distribution adding the remaining 84.7 billion won.
Here lies the direction of the expansion strategy. Chairman Lee has shifted the tone of management away from conservative, fundamentals-focused stewardship toward aggressively growing the business. After broadening its reach into highway rest areas and golf courses, the company is now turning its attention to modular housing, smart farms and co-living housing. Orison Swett Marden defined success as doing one's utmost with the materials at hand. Chairman Lee Seung-chan's lifting of Gyeryong Construction Industrial's ranking from 23rd to 15th on its Chungcheong home turf is his first report card.
