Chairman Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Group stressed the need to build a sustainable portfolio in order to lead the president and future.
In his New Year’s message on Jan. 2, Chairman Kim said, “Outside conditions have been getting worse due to inflation, high interest rates, retrenchment and economic recession.”
Some institutions predicted minus growth rather than low growth, but Hanwha had proved through its history that crises made the company bigger.
“We have to face up to the new challenge toward a 100-year Hanwha by dreaming a dream for tomorrow, rather than stopping and shrinking even at unpredictable severe hardships, and we should lead the present and future by building a sustainable portfolio only Hanwha can do and have to do,” Chairman Kim said.
Chairman Kim said, “Amid the rapidly changing international situation, such as Russia-Ukraine war and U.S.-China conflicts, corporate activities and national security are further getting closer.
“In particular, the defense industry Hanwha has nurtured with responsibility for a long time, and the energy business, need to be self-sufficient for the survival of the nation, and these are the nation’s representative business portfolio we have to continue to make and nurture,” he said.
Chairman Kim called for cultivating Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), acquired by Hanwha, into the nation’s representative business with responsibility and a global major business contributing to the development of regional society and the state.
He also stressed the need to make continuous R&D and innovation of conventional businesses, such as petrochemicals, financing, construction and services rather than fizzling out of a short-term boom.
“We have to redouble efforts to make tangible achievements of future businesses, such as aerospace, green energy and digital financing we’re preparing to live up to the market and customers’ expectations, and as these achievements have mounted, customers’ expectations will lead to trust toward Hanwha, which is moving forward from the present to the future,” Chairman Kim said.
Chairman Kim emphasized the importance of reinventing its corporate culture.
“Now is a time when a new corporate culture is necessary to support futuristic management activities, such as the continuous expanding of new businesses, including the acquisition of DSME, and restructuring of business portfolios,” Kim said.
He called for innovation in how work is done and a flexible corporate culture so that Hanwha can be armed with global top capabilities to correspond to diverse businesses, regions and manpower.
Chairman Kim also spoke of dramatic investments and ESG management. He called for achieving substantive growth at the time of hardships, rather than facing up only to the present reality and not sparing dramatic investments to secure future growth engines and core capabilities.
He also asked for commitment to corporate responsibility to narrow gaps in society, stressing through preparation and response to lead global standards toward a sustainable future, such as carbon neutrality and ESG.
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