Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin's Instagram account shows it has 23 posts, Thursday. The site used to share hundreds of photos and videos through which Chung shared his personal life and thoughts for years. Screen capture from Instagram

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin's Instagram posts, which have been drawing public attention for years due to his unfiltered remarks and sharing of his personal life, have been almost completely deleted, raising questions as to the sudden change of stance regarding his social media, which comprises over 843,000 followers, according to industry observers, Thursday.

Chung's Instagram, which used to host hundreds of photos and videos, was completely cleared of such content on Wednesday. The following day, Chung's Instagram showed he reposted 12 photos that had already been posted previously. But none of them were as controversial as past posts. Instead, the posts were more mundane in nature such as how he spends time outside of work: cooking, visiting restaurants, buying Lego and hanging out with friends and family members.

Known as the most popular influencer among the country's business leaders, Chung said on his "refreshed" Instagram, "I'm not reading any direct message. Don't waste your time." The webpage also showed an upside-down Korean word "myulgong," meaning eradicate communists, which he posted on Instagram in 2022 stirring the public's reaction for allegedly criticizing China. He later said on the social media network that the post was directed at North Korea.

Chung's Instagram change came after the heir apparent was promoted from the group's vice-chairman to chairman on March 8. Industry watchers speculated that the chairman cleansed his social media to reduce attention around his Instagram account and focus more on managing his retail conglomerate.

"The group right now needs some innovative changes and growth," a retail industry official said. "It's pretty clear the Shinsegae chairman deleted those Instagram photos to concentrate on those goals."

The speculation derives from E-mart, a Shinsegae subsidiary and the country's biggest large-size discount store chain that last year registered an operating loss of 46.9 billion won ($350,000), the first operating loss since 2011. Despite its highest-ever sales last year, E-mart saw a deficit as Shinsegae E&C, the construction arm of E-mart, struggled last year due to rising costs.

Then-Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin sits on Pacific Compagnie's Armchair Savannah in this Instagram photo from Feb. 1. He said he had bought the chair and intrigued his followers by prompting them to guess how much it cost. It was one of 30 limited copies and it cost 14,900 euros. The photo has since been deleted from his Instagram. Screen capture from Instagram

The speculations also came as E-mart is being challenged by major online shopping platforms that have been leading the country's new shopping trend since COVID-19. Not only did Coupang, the country's biggest online shopping outlet, start to outsell E-mart in January, but Chinese online platforms including AliExpress and Temu are increasingly becoming popular in the country as they offer competitive prices.

Chung's promotion came amid such challenges to E-mart's position. A Shinsegae official said the promotion is the group's move to reinforce its internal consolidation in the face of ever-growing threats by retail competitors. The official added Chung's strong leadership will help the group break through the unfavorable management situation.

Following his promotion, Chung started accepting voluntary resignations from E-mart employees with at least 15 years of working experience under the company. It was the first time E-mart sought voluntary resignations to downsize itself. This caused anger among unionized E-mart workers, who denounced Chung for ordering the measure while he promoted himself.

E-mart's share value on Thursday stood at 68,300 won, a fall from 2018 when it was over 320,000 won. Korea Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded E-mart's credit grade from AA to AA-. NICE Investors Service did the same on March 22.

A Shinsegae official said Chung's Instagram is irrelevant to the group's management, declining to link the deleted Instagram posts to Chung's fresh grip on the group.

"The chairman manages his own Instagram, posting and deleting the posts all by himself," the official said. "The corporation has no involvement in his social media postings."