New HD Hyundai Chmn. Chung Accelerates Efforts to Achieve Vision of Raising Sales to 100 Trillion Won in 5 Yrs

HD Hyundai Chmn. Chung Ki-sun takes office at a ceremony on Oct. 17. (Photos: HD Hyundai)

New HD Hyundai Group Chung Ki-sun said “As far as Our group’s changes and leap forward is concerned, now is a critical juncture.”

Chmn. Chung made the remarks at a group management strategy meeting, which took place at HD HHI from Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 with CEOs of HD Hyundai Group’s major subsidiaries, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and HD Hyundai Oilbank, and 32 major executives in attendance.

HD Hyundai Group held the group strategy meeting after new Chmn. Chung took office. Chmn. Chung remarks may be construed as his move to establish future growth strategies and execution roadmaps for achieving the goal of raising the group’s sales to 100 trillion won in five years by coping with rapidly changing global management conditions in advance.

The latest group strategy meeting was designed to effectively cope with declining shipbuilding order cycle, strengthening of U.S. European and Chinese protectionist moves and localization policies, and Chinese and other competitors’ tough challenging in the mainstay businesses and build sustainable growth foundations.

During the meeting, HD Hyundai Group looked into the management strategies of all businesses by the group’s shipbuilding, construction machinery, energy and new business divisions.

Participants shared mid- and long-term visions on eco-friendly, digital, AI transformation acceleration and new growth development.

Chung Ki-sun, the 3rd generation offspring of the late Hyundai founder, has been named chairman of HD Hyundai Business Group, the nation’s eighth largest conglomerate, HD Hyundai Group said on Oct. 17.

The new HD Hyundai Group Chmn. Chung is the grandson of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, and the eldest son of Chmn. Chung Mong-joon of the Asan Foundation and the biggest shareholder of HD Hyundai Group.

Through the reshuffle, HD Hyundai Group is shifting from a 37-year professional manager system into a management system controlled by the 3rd generation offspring of the founder.

HD Hyundai had maintained a professional manager system since 1988 when Chmn. Chung Mong-joon of the Asan Foundation stepped down from chairmanship of the conglomerate to enter the political circles.

Former HD Hyundai Chmn. Kwon Oh-kap, who had overseen the business group since 2014, has stepped down and was appointed to be a standing honorary chairman.

It is rare that Kwon, a publicly recruited employee, not a conglomerate family member, has been given the status of standing honorary chairman.

He climbed the hierarchy as a “salaryman legend” since he entered HD Hyundai Heavy Industries as a freshman employee in 2014.

The latest reshuffle may be construed as HD Hyundai Business Group’s bid to build a new leadership at a time when the business group is required to secure future growth engines, such as the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” project and shipbuilding digital innovation.

HD Hyundai Group has 32 subsidiaries encompassing the shipbuilding, refinery and construction machinery sectors. Its total assets stand at some 88.72 trillion won.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has overseen the launchpad system of Korea’s fourth homegrown space rocket Nuri, which successfully lifted off on Nov. 17.

HD Hyundai Heavy Oversees Launchpad System Nuri Rocket

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) oversaw the launchpad system for Korea’s fourth homegrown space rocket Nuri, which lifted off on Nov. 17.

HD HHI completed foundation facility work for the second launchpad, dedicated in 2020, while designing, producing and installing the whole process of the launchpad, such as the Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE), the Fuel and Gas Supply Equipment (FGSE) and the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE).

The company also supervised all processes ranging from check-up prior to the launch to lift-off and operation.

In particular, the launchpad system process technology achieved a 100 percent localization rate, laying foothold for independently building and operating space lift-off infrastructure without depending on foreign technology.

Starting with building of a launchpad system for a Nuri rocket in 2007, HD HHI has entered the satellite rock lift-off infrastructure sector and supported the first to fourth launch of the Nuri.

A HD HHI official said, “The successful 4th launch of the Nuri has proved stability of the launchpad system built with homegrown technology, and HD HHI will actively participate in the upcoming 5th and sixth launch of the Nuri and operation and next-generation rocket projects, contributing to the development of the Korean aerospace industry.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, State Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, and Head of Corporate Planning at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Choi Han-nae, pose for a photo in Madurai, southern India, after HD Hyundai signed a strategic and comprehensive partnership with the Tamil Nadu state government regarding the establishment of a new shipyard in India.

HD Hyundai Signs MOU with Indian State Gov’t to Establish New Shipyard

HD Hyundai has initiated a review on the establishment of a new shipyard in India.

HD Hyundai announced on Dec. 7 that it signed a strategic and comprehensive partnership with the Tamil Nadu state government regarding the establishment of a new shipyard in India.

A ceremony was held in Madurai, southern India, with the attendance of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, State Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, and Head of Corporate Planning at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Choi Han-nae.

The Indian government is strategically pursuing the “Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047” in an effort to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding and shipping nations.

To achieve this goal, the government is actively reviewing not only the expansion of existing shipyards but also the establishment of new facilities.

In practice, the Indian government has shortlisted five states - including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh - as candidate sites for the construction of a new shipyard, and is currently in the process of identifying the most suitable location.

Seeking to revitalize the local economy, the Tamil Nadu state government has made the establishment of a shipyard its top priority and has expanded efforts to provide incentives and subsidies, enhance infrastructure, and secure skilled talent.

As a result, the state has ultimately selected HD Hyundai as its project partner for the establishment of the new shipyard.

In particular, the Thoothukudi region of Tamil Nadu - cited as one of the candidate sites for the new shipyard - is regarded as an optimal location, with temperature and rainfall conditions similar to those of Ulsan, Korea, where HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is located.

It already hosts major Korean companies such as Hyundai Motor Company and Samsung Electronics, and large-scale investments are planned for nearby port facilities, further strengthening expectations for future business expansion.

Earlier this month, HD Hyundai also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the collaboration for maritime & port crane development in India with BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited), a state-owned enterprise under the Indian Ministry of Defense, in Bengaluru, southern India. Headquartered in Bengaluru, BEML operates in various sectors including defense and aerospace equipment, mining and construction equipment, and railway and metro vehicles.

The company also has multiple manufacturing bases in southern India, including Bengaluru and Kolar.

Through this agreement, HD Hyundai plans to strengthen collaboration with BEML across the entire crane manufacturing process, including design, production, and quality assurance, aiming to gradually build port crane manufacturing capabilities within India.

Looking ahead, the company also plans to expand its business by supplying goliath and jib cranes to local shipyards in India.

In relation to this, HD Hyundai Samho, a shipbuilding affiliate of HD Hyundai, successfully delivered a 600-ton Goliath crane to Cochin Shipyard, India’s largest state-owned shipbuilder, in February of this year.

In addition, in August, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediary holding company for the shipbuilding division, announced it would acquire HD Hyundai Eco Vina from Doosan Enerbility to further reinforce HD Hyundai’s ongoing expansion in the crane business.

An HD Hyundai official said, “India is a market with strong growth potential, backed by the government’s robust commitment to fostering the shipbuilding industry,” adding, “We will continue to expand cooperation with India in the shipbuilding and offshore sectors and develop it into a new growth engine.”

A whole view of HD HHI’s shipyard in Ulsan.