Cosmetics brand TonyMoly appointed Bae Jin-hyung, the chairman’s daughter, to its board of directors at a shareholders meeting Monday.

The decision of the chairman, who holds 30.93 percent stake, to appoint his 26-year-old daughter to the board was seen by some as being reckless and premature. 


A graduate of New York University, the junior Bae has been with TonyMoly for just six months, joining the company last September. She is currently working at the company’s overseas sales department.

Industry watchers say that it is irresponsible to give her so much power over the company’s investments, human resource management and strategy at this stage of her career.

However, a spokesman for TonyMoly said that the appointment was largely symbolic to “emphasize responsibility” in Bae’s work, and that her “day-to-day responsibilities and tasks will most likely remain the same.”

The junior Bae holds an 8.5 percent stake in TonyMoly. All together, the Bae family owns 63.94 percent stake in the company.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)