Hanwha, Marking 73rd Anniversary, Aims to be Global Leader

Chairman Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Business Group. (Photos: Hanwha Group)

Hanwha celebrated the 73rd anniversary on Oct. 9.

In his commemorative speech, Chmn. Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Group said, “Our goal now is to be a global leader, and we have to be a leader in each business area with responsibility as the nation’s representative company.”

Seventy-three years have passed since Korea Explosives, the forerunner of the business group, was launched on Oct. 9, 1952.

Hanwha Group did not hold any anniversary event as the founding day fell on the Chuseok holiday period. Instead, each subsidiary decided to hold a separate event to present prizes to long-serving employees.

In the speech, Chmn. Kim emphasized that success stories in the shipbuilding and defense industries, which emerged as core businesses, should be spread to the whole of Hanwha Group.

“We have been implementing mega projects in defense industry, shipbuilding, energy, finance, machinery sectors and we have to become a leader in each area with Korea’s representative company’s responsibility,” he said.

To this end, Chmn. Kim stressed world-class proprietary technologies. He said, “Key players in areas, such as the defense industry, shipbuilding, energy and machinery, in which our Hanwha is staging fierce competition around the world, have their own proprietary technologies.”

Chmn. Kim called for securing new original technologies to become a leader.

He said, “If we secure an upper hand in the original technology markets of core businesses, such as unmanned aircraft sensors and propulsion power in the AI defense industry, advanced aircraft engines and super-high efficiency renewal energy, our future will be guaranteed.”

Chairman Kim said now is the time when two things — prudent decisions and aggressive actions — are more needed than at any time, and an example is the acquisition of Philly Shipyard, which has been highlighted by the Korean-U.S. summit talks. He stressed the acquisition emerging as a center of the “Making America Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) Project,” a symbol of Korean-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation.

“We have now grown into a company with 100 trillion won in capitalization, which has played a pivotal role in negotiations among countries,” Chairman Kim said. Hanwha saw its capitalization surge 127.07 trillion won as of Sept. 30, a three-fold jump over early 2025.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard offers an example of how these priorities are being translated into action.

Dignitaries, including President Lee Jae-myung, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan, Kim Dong-kwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro participate in the christening ceremony of the State of Maine vessel at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pa., on Aug. 25.

How Hanwha Philly Shipyard is Supporting America’s Maritime Resurgence

The United States is intensifying efforts to reinvigorate its domestic manufacturing base, with shipbuilding - critical to both economic strength and national security - a key focus.

Despite being the world’s leading LNG exporter, the U.S. still relies heavily on vessels built overseas to transport its energy supplies abroad.

This has pushed shipbuilding higher on the public policy agenda, with bipartisan initiatives like the SHIPS Act and the Maritime Dominance Executive Order taking shape.

Recent U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposals, particularly around LNG carriers, further underscore the urgency of bolstering U.S. shipbuilding capabilities.

Underpinning this momentum, Hanwha Group announced a $5 billion infrastructure plan to upgrade Hanwha Philly Shipyard to a next-generation shipbuilding hub.

Part of a wider $150 billion investment fund created by the South Korean government to support U.S. shipbuilding, Philly Shipyard’s transformation aims to usher in a new chapter for American shipbuilding.

Hanwha plans to use Philly Shipyard as a base to lead the construction of new shipyards in the U.S., train skilled shipbuilding personnel, rebuild shipbuilding supply chains and oversee ship construction and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations.

As the U.S. seeks to expand its maritime and industrial manufacturing leadership globally, reestablishing industrial capacity at home has become a top policy priority - one that will depend on continued investment, technological collaboration and aligned industrial partnerships.