Kwon Hyuk-soo, 64, was appointed as the new CEO of Korea Coal Corp.

According to the state-run coal mine operator, Kwon, who joined Korea Coal Corp. in 1975, served as a vice president between 2006 and 2008, and then worked for state-run Kangwon Land Corp. as an outside director.

Industry watchers said the biggest task ahead of Kwon was to develop a restructuring plan to lower the company’s debt level.

Korea Coal Corp. gained the poorest score in the 2013 financial standing evaluation of 22 state-run companies by the Ministry of Science and Finance. According to the evaluation, Korea Coal Corp.’s debt-equity ratio amounted to 217.1 percent in 2012, the highest among those evaluated.

The nation’s coal mine operator runs three coal mines nationwide and has invested in overseas mining projects in countries such as Mongolia, Indonesia, Australia, Russia and China.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)