GS Group "Crisis Begins This Year... Emergency Management Initiated"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] On the 2nd, GS Group defined the new year 2023 as "the beginning of an unprecedented prolonged recession and crisis" and emphasized "the role of on-site talents in overcoming the crisis."

Chairman Huh Tae-soo stated, "The series of changes in the business environment, such as the global economic downturn and the rapid fluctuations in oil prices, exchange rates, and inflation, signal the start of an unprecedented prolonged recession," and emphasized, "The wisdom to overcome the crisis and the survival of companies depend on the on-site talents who voluntarily innovate."

Chairman Huh’s designation of this year as the start of a crisis is a measure to instill tension throughout the organization, based on the judgment that despite recent improvements in GS Group’s overall structure and excellent performance, there are signs of decline in leading indicators of major businesses and precursors to a long-term recession.

GS also placed emphasis on a crisis response system through management continuity by mostly retaining the CEOs of major affiliates in the regular executive appointments made as of January 1 of the new year. With Chairman Huh emphasizing the crisis response of on-site employees in preparation for a prolonged recession in this New Year’s message, it implies that GS Group will shift to a de facto emergency management system from top executives to on-site staff.

Additionally, Chairman Huh said, "Over the past three years, we have continuously invested in digital innovation internally and new technologies externally, laying the foundation for future growth," and stressed, "Let’s make this year one where we connect and grow the seeds of these investments and innovations into new businesses."

This reflects the judgment that the business ecosystem created through GS Group’s steady promotion of digital innovation and investments in new technology startups can become a golden opportunity to enhance corporate resilience and create new businesses amid an unprecedented prolonged recession.

Accordingly, GS’s new businesses, including energy transition, are expected to accelerate further. New businesses such as hydrogen, biofuels, and plastic recycling promoted by GS Caltex, and blue ammonia development and distribution, battery recycling, SMR small modular reactors, and electric vehicle charging led by GS Energy are expected to be fully launched. Additionally, GS Retail is expected to accelerate new businesses that provide new shopping experiences by linking online and offline, and GS Construction is expected to speed up eco-friendly smart building new businesses.

In particular, GS plans to actively pursue M&A of companies with future growth potential while continuously discovering and investing in competitive promising startups through its venture investment specialized companies, GS Futures and GS Ventures. GS Group’s future growth strategy, which connects investment, cooperation, and commercialization, is expected to accelerate further in the new year 2023, where crisis and opportunity coexist.

Meanwhile, Chairman Huh urged GS Group’s presidents and executives below to "create an organizational culture where excellent talents can work more voluntarily and creatively based on the accumulated digital and open innovation work innovations."