Kim Dong-kwan, Hanwha President, Acts as 'Private Diplomat' at Davos Forum... Conversations with Intel CEO and S&P Vice Chairman

The Only One to Join the 'Davos Special Envoy Team'
Business Meetings with Eco-Friendly Energy and Space Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Kim Dong-kwan, President of Hanwha Solutions, continued his streak of attending the Davos Forum this year as well. Since 2010, he has consistently participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF) held annually in Davos, Switzerland, building a network with global leaders. This year, he was the only Korean businessperson to join the 'Davos Special Envoy Delegation' dispatched by President Yoon Seok-yeol, actively serving as a 'private diplomat.'

From the 23rd (local time), Kim attended the four-day Davos Forum and met with Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global, along with the special envoy delegation. Vice Chairman Yergin is one of the world's most influential experts on energy and international relations. He has served as an energy advisor to four U.S. administrations, from Bill Clinton to President Donald Trump.

Kim shared views with Vice Chairman Yergin on the geopolitical changes following the Russia-Ukraine war and their impact on the energy market. On the 23rd, he arranged a meeting between Special Envoy Na Kyung-won and Thomas Donilon, Chairman of BlackRock's think tank BII. Special Envoy Na explained President Yoon Seok-yeol's economic policies to Chairman Donilon, a former White House National Security Advisor, and requested active investment from BlackRock. BlackRock responded, "We will invest more than 50% of future investments with sustainability in mind," and added, "We will consider expanding investments in Korea under this policy."

In addition to his activities with the special envoy delegation, Kim continued business meetings focusing on Hanwha's core businesses such as eco-friendly energy and space. On the 24th, he met with Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, to exchange opinions on the global semiconductor shortage and discuss potential cooperation. He also met with multinational mining and resource company Rio Tinto, which is working on carbon reduction, and Relativity Space, a U.S. space company that manufactures rockets using 3D printing technology, to discuss collaboration and confirm global trends.

At Hanwha, along with President Kim, Kim Hee-cheol, CEO of Hanwha Impact; Yeo Seung-joo, CEO of Hanwha Life; and Han Doo-hee, CEO of Hanwha Asset Management, attended this year's Davos Forum. On the 21st, Kim attended a business roundtable hosted by Minister Lee Chang-yang of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, as well as the Korea-U.S. summit dinner that evening, before immediately traveling to Switzerland to join the 'Davos Special Envoy Delegation.' At the business roundtable, Kim expressed hope that the Korea-U.S. economic alliance would expand to include solar energy. Secretary Raimondo also mentioned 'solar energy' alongside semiconductors and batteries as key areas of cooperation between the two countries.