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'Our goal is global leadership,' Hanwha Chairman Kim says in anniversary address to affiliates

Published: 09 Oct. 2025, 15:21 Updated: 09 Oct. 2025, 15:24

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn [HANWHA]

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn called on affiliates to pursue leadership in their respective fields under the banner of “national champion,” as the company marked its 73rd anniversary on Thursday.

“Our goal is global leadership,” Kim said in an anniversary message released Thursday. “Each affiliate must lead its sector with a sense of responsibility as a national representative.”

He pointed to recent successes in defense and shipbuilding as models the rest of the group should follow, adding that Hanwha must scale its experience and capabilities across all business areas.

“We face a world of rapidly changing domestic and global conditions,” he said. “Making coolheaded judgments about international dynamics, building networks quickly and making bold moves into new markets will be key.”

Kim cited the group’s acquisition of the Philadelphia Shipyard in the United States, which gained attention during a Korea-U. S. summit earlier this year, as a case of “balancing caution with decisiveness.”

The Philadelphia-based yard became the first U.S. shipyard acquired by a Korean company and is now a key symbol of the so-called Make American Shipbuilding Great Again or MASGA project.

Large cranes and ships under construction are seen at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang on Aug. 26. [NEWS1]

Kim emphasized the importance of original technology in sectors such as defense, shipbuilding, energy and machinery, where Hanwha faces intense global competition.

“All key players in those fields hold proprietary technologies,” he said. “The fastest way for latecomers to become leaders is by developing new, original technologies.”

He also stressed the need to secure dominance in future markets through next-generation technologies.

“We must gain commanding positions with core technologies in our strategic businesses,” he said. “These include unmanned sensor systems in AI defense, propulsion systems, advanced aircraft engines and ultraefficient renewable energy.”

Reflecting on the group’s trajectory, Kim said Hanwha has grown into a 100 trillion won ($70.5 billion) company by market capitalization from its founding as Korea Explosives Co. on Oct. 9, 1952.

“Hanwha was born from a belief in building the country through business,” he said. “Now that we’ve reached a new level in size and reputation, the moment we fall back on old habits is the moment crisis begins. We must abandon any inclination toward complacency.”

Hanwha’s market capitalization surged from 40.8 trillion won at the end of September 2024 to 127 trillion won as of Sept. 30 this year, driven largely by gains in defense and shipbuilding.

Kim has consistently emphasized innovation and agility in previous anniversary messages.

In 2019, he said the group must “challenge and innovate with the spirit of the beginning.” In 2006, he encouraged employees to “learn from migratory birds crossing continents rather than birds guarding their nests.” In 2023, he called for “reviving the entrepreneurial spirit of the founding era.”

This year’s message was shared in video format via the company's internal messenging service. With the anniversary falling during the Chuseok holiday, Hanwha did not hold a separate ceremony, but plans to commemorate the milestone through in-house broadcasts and long-service awards after the holiday.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]