Chairman Huh Chang-soo of GS Group.

In his New Year’s address, Chairman Huh Chang-soo of GS Group asked that the group find new growth engines to build a broader base for a sustainable and profitable future. He asked the group to diversify its business portfolio and create a corporate culture to attract fresh young talent to the group.

Since its separation from LG Group, GS Group has been focusing on strengthening its core business lines, including energy, construction and retailing. 

In particular, a focus has been placed on competitive strength, along with efforts to find new growth engines through M&As and restructuring.

In the new year, the group will go full steam ahead to find new growth engines and strengthen its business portfolio.

GS Caltex, a major affiliate of the group, will focus on oil refining, petrochemicals and lubrication oil, all business that the oil refiner brought over from LG Group. GS Caltex will continue to invest in affiliates with higher returns, while making efforts to reduce costs.

The second largest oil refinery in Korea will also work to explore new growth engines to ensure its profitability and growth while working with technology, raw materials, and customers to cope with any changes resulting from a shaky business environment for the oil industry, and make sure that its base for continued growth and profit structure remains intact.

GS Energy, in the meantime, will strive to further enhance its competitive strength and growth potential while focusing on boosting the competitive strength of its traditional energy business areas.

The company has been engaged in work related to expanding the LNG demand through the extensive operations of two thermal power plants, Sin Pyeongtaek and Tongducheon Dream Power. The company holds stakes in the thermal power plants. 

GS Energy also took over stakes in Cheongla Energy and Incheon Integrated Energy in order to secure a share in the regional collective energy business in Korea.

GS Retail sold its department stores and marts in 2001 and expanded its convenience stores and supermarkets in a bid to secure physical structures while seeking new growth engines.

GS Homeshopping, in the meantime, has focused on boosting the growth of its TV home shopping network to use its accumulated know-how for the curation of commerce to develop segregated brands and products. 

GS Global will expand its overseas market to such regions as Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe in a move to diversify abroad, along with projects related to exploration of coal mines abroad to be supplied to coal-burning thermal power plants around the world.

GS Construction will try to diversify its operational areas around the world to find projects with high profits, while concentrating on securing orders for maintenance works in cities and apartments for its domestic operation to further boost its competitive edge in those business sectors. The construction arm of the group has been landing project orders in the Middle East. 

The company has also been scouring East Asia and Africa for infrastructural projects not centered only on the Middle East.

Chairman Huh Chang-soo has a looks at GS Shopping’s display of its products held recently in Seoul.(Photos: GS Group)