Kwon Oh-gap, Chairman of HD Hyundai, Awarded the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit

50th Commerce and Industry Day Ceremony
Establishing Growth Foundation for Joseon and Energy Businesses

Chairman Kwon Oh-gap of HD Hyundai received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to national industrial development.

On the 15th, at the 50th Commerce Day ceremony held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, Chairman Kwon was awarded the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in recognition of his achievements as a business leader in advancing the shipbuilding industry and spreading a culture of sharing.

Chairman Kwon has devoted 44 years to the company, growing HD Hyundai into a technology-driven global comprehensive heavy industries company through bold decision-making based on innovation and communication management.

After being appointed president of Hyundai Oilbank in 2010, he expanded the business areas beyond crude oil refining to petrochemicals, lubricants, carbon black, and fuel storage. He laid the foundation for growth in the energy sector by growing the company from an operating profit of only 130 billion KRW to over 1 trillion KRW within four years.

In particular, during the shipbuilding industry downturn in 2014, he took office as president of Hyundai Heavy Industries and implemented high-intensity reforms such as business structure reorganization, divestment of non-core businesses, and various personnel system innovations. At that time, Chairman Kwon led by example by voluntarily giving up his salary to share the pain, and launched independent corporations for business units unrelated to shipbuilding, such as Electric, Construction Equipment, and Robotics, achieving a turnaround to profitability within two years.

In 2021, he acquired Doosan Infracore and has been striving to secure the global competitiveness of Korea’s construction equipment industry by maximizing synergies in the construction machinery sector.

Furthermore, last year, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding, Chairman Kwon renamed the group HD Hyundai and declared a second leap forward. At the end of last year, HD Hyundai completed the Global R&D Center (GRC) in Pangyo, laying the groundwork to grow into a technology-centered company leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.

In 2011, Chairman Kwon established the 'Hyundai Oilbank 1% Sharing Foundation' by donating 1% of employees’ salaries, and in 2020 expanded it group-wide, renaming it the 'HD Hyundai 1% Sharing Foundation.' Through the foundation, support projects are provided for underprivileged children, youth preparing for independence, and elderly living alone, as well as donations and volunteer activities to overcome national disasters.

Chairman Kwon said, "Receiving the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit is thanks to the HD Hyundai employees who have worked together with a sense of duty as national representatives in each field," adding, "I will do my best to contribute to national industrial development through future technology development and talent cultivation."