Hanwha chairman's youngest son named vice president at retail arm

Kim Dong-seon, now vice president at Hanwha Galleria, makes a hamburger at a Five Guys branch in Hong Kong ahead of its opening in Seoul in June. [HANWHA GALLERIA]

Kim Dong-seon, the third and youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, has been promoted to vice president at Hanwha Galleria, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Kim, doubling as the head of new business strategies at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts and Hanwha Galleria, recently spearheaded the successful launch of the U.S. burger chain Five Guys in Korea. Kim also serves as the managing head of the Strategy Planning Division at Hanwha Robotics, a recently established robotics subsidiary of Hanwha.

In the filing made by Hanwha Galleria, Kim has acquired an additional 240,000 shares, increasing his ownership from 0.63 percent to 0.75 percent from Nov. 2 to 8. This move aligns with his ongoing efforts to increase his stake in Hanwha Galleria, a process initiated following the company's spin-off from Hanwha Solutions in April.

Following the opening of the first Five Guys branch in Korea in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, in June, the company launched a second branch in Yeouido, western Seoul, in October. The two stores proved hugely popular, drawing over 2,000 daily customers to each branch.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]