【Seoul, South】Classys Appoints Samsung Veteran Yoon Jun-oh as CEO to Lead Global Expansion

South Korean aesthetic medical device specialist Classys has appointed a strategy and M&A expert from Samsung Electronics as its new CEO, accelerating its global business expansion. At a critical juncture where the company is transitioning from simple equipment exports to directly operating overseas subsidiaries, the recruitment of the executive who led Samsung’s acquisition of Harman is seen as a strategic move to strengthen business integration and discover new growth engines.

Classys announced on July 15 that its board of directors had appointed Yoon Jun-oh, former vice president of Samsung Electronics, as its new chief executive officer. Choi Yoon-seok, who took office in December last year, stepped down after approximately seven months. Yoon, who joined Samsung Electronics in 1993 and worked for 34 years at its South Korean and U.S. operations, is a quintessential “Samsung man” with experience spanning software engineering, marketing, and planning.

The most notable aspect of Yoon’s career is his large-scale M&A execution capability. From 2009 to 2018, he oversaw business portfolio strategy, new growth engine discovery, and M&A operations in the strategy team of Samsung Group’s Future Strategy Office. During this period, he is particularly known for spearheading Samsung Electronics’ mega-deal to acquire automotive electronics and audio specialist Harman for $8 billion (approximately 9 trillion won). He subsequently served as head of the strategy group, automotive electronics business team, and Harman collaboration team within Samsung’s DX Division, while also serving as secretary of Harman’s board and director at Rainbow Robotics and the Flect Group, accumulating post-merger integration (PMI) and management expertise.

This leadership change comes at a time when Classys’ business structure is undergoing fundamental transformation. In 2024, Classys merged with Ilooda, which possesses laser and microneedle radiofrequency (RF) technology, significantly expanding its existing product portfolio centered on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and RF. Furthermore, the company recently acquired Brazilian aesthetic medical device distributor Medsystems (local entity name: JL Health) along with subsidiaries in Argentina and Colombia, establishing a direct sales network in the South American market. This marks a strategic shift from an overseas distributor-centric sales model to directly managing local sales, marketing, and service infrastructure in key markets such as Japan and Brazil.

However, rapid top-line growth has brought increased financial management burdens. The company’s consolidated debt-to-equity ratio stood at 51.1% at the end of the first quarter, a significant increase from 27.7% at the end of last year, driven by increased accounts receivable and borrowings following the incorporation of South American distributors. For the new CEO Yoon, a key challenge will be maintaining the pace of global expansion while quickly stabilizing overseas subsidiaries into reliable cash-generating operations.

In his inaugural remarks, Yoon emphasized the convergence of hardware and software. Classys plans to introduce next-generation products and services that combine energy-based aesthetic medical device technology and treatment data with artificial intelligence, software, and data capabilities.

This leadership change at Classys signifies a transition from a finance and administration-focused management system to one centered on global business integration and new growth engine discovery, aimed at precisely managing the company’s dramatically expanded scale following the Ilooda merger and South American distribution network acquisitions. The market is closely watching how Yoon, with his proven track record of successfully leading and stabilizing Samsung’s massive Harman acquisition, will steer Classys’ entry into the U.S. and Chinese markets and its transformation into an AI-based medical device platform.