Eldest Son Vice Chairman Kim Dong-gwan's On-site Management Visit
Direct Inspection of Export Leaders Cheonmu and K9 Production Sites
Lunch with Australian Redback Export Staff and New Employees
Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, visited the Changwon plant of Hanwha Aerospace's defense division for the first time on the 20th to encourage employees and check the status of operations. The visit was accompanied by key executives, including Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman and eldest son of the group who is the head of Hanwha Aerospace's strategy division, and Son Jae-il, President and head of the business division.
Hanwha Aerospace announced on the 21st that Chairman Kim was briefed on the management status and global market development strategy, following the company’s record-breaking performance since its integrated launch in April last year.
Chairman Kim stated, "We must put all our efforts into securing the K9 project in Romania to expand our market share in Europe, and then advance into global markets such as North America beyond Europe." He urged proactive preparation for global market development and future businesses based on advanced technology to secure South Korea’s self-reliant defense and future growth engines.
He continued, "Let us prepare Hanwha’s future based on differentiation beyond existing frameworks and adaptability to change that seizes future opportunities," emphasizing the importance of continuous technological innovation for future battlefield responses based on artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned systems.
During the visit, Chairman Kim toured the assembly process of the Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system, which secured an export contract worth about 7 trillion KRW with Poland, as well as production sites for the K21 infantry fighting vehicle. He also examined global best-selling products such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, Redback, and Chunmoo, which are used in nine countries worldwide and hold over 60% of the global market share.
After touring the production sites, Chairman Kim had lunch at the plant cafeteria with employees who contributed to the export of the Australian Redback and new recruits, engaging in conversation. He encouraged the employees, saying, "Despite difficult circumstances, you overcame global competition and achieved the first export to Australia, an advanced defense country. Please take pride as citizens of the Republic of Korea and members of Hanwha."
Earlier, on March 29, Chairman Kim visited Hanwha Aerospace’s Daejeon R&D campus led by Vice Chairman Kim. This was the resumption of on-site management after about five years and four months. On the 5th of last month, he visited the headquarters of Hanwha Robotics, overseen by third son Kim Dong-seon, and on the 25th of last month, he visited the headquarters of Hanwha Life Insurance in the 63 Building, Yeouido, Seoul, led by second son Kim Dong-won, meeting with employees of Hanwha’s financial affiliates. Chairman Kim’s successive visits to business sites are seen as moves to empower his three sons, who are respectively in charge of defense, aerospace, energy, finance, distribution, and robotics businesses, and to clarify the succession structure.
On this day, Chairman Kim wrote in the guestbook, "Let us leap forward as a world-class company by leveraging relentless spirit of challenge and differentiated technological capabilities," and left his autograph. This followed his encouragement for securing the next-generation launch vehicle project during his visit to Hanwha Aerospace’s Daejeon R&D campus and presented the future vision of the core defense business.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
