Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Hankook & Company, Discusses with Executives in 'AI Open Talk' Debate

Building an Innovative Communication and Learning Platform
"Executives Need Voluntary Learning... Implementation Across All Affiliates"

Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Hankook & Company Group, has started communicating with executives in a group chat room incorporating artificial intelligence (AI).

Hankook & Company Group announced on the 15th that it has been operating an 'AI Group Chat Room (IAA)' using KakaoTalk open chat rooms since February. In the IAA, executives present content and agendas daily without topic restrictions, and AI acts as an assistant to summarize the content.

The innovative communication and learning platform includes over 100 executives from key departments such as Chairman Cho himself, Future Strategy, Management Innovation Headquarters, Digital Strategy, Communication, Retail Innovation, and Research & Development (R&D). When members post content such as articles, videos, and web pages, the AI summarizes them and provides insights.

The distinctive feature of the IAA is 'non-autonomous autonomous learning.' While notification settings are flexible, the response rate averages over 90%. More than five agendas are presented daily, ranging from brief comments to lengthy analyses and personal experience sharing. When communication on a specific topic deepens, discussions are transferred to the 'Executive Innovation Channel' on Microsoft (MS) Teams platform to expand the conversation. All content, comments, and reactions are aggregated into a separate dashboard and utilized as participation and collaboration metric statistics.

The IAA aligns with Hankook & Company Group’s company-wide initiatives on Digital Transformation (DT) and Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX). The plan extends beyond work automation to enhancing members’ intellectual capabilities and evolving communication methods.

Seo Jung-chul, Executive Director in charge of Management Innovation who plans and operates the project, said, "AI is playing a role as a communication tool that not only provides simple information but also enhances members’ information sensitivity and induces discussion and connection," adding, "IAA can be expanded into a digital governance platform in the future."

The introduction of the IAA began with feedback from Chairman Cho at the Management Strategy Innovation Meeting in October last year. At that time, feedback among the meeting members emphasized the need for executives to engage in active sharing and voluntary learning rather than passive reporting. Subsequently, Chairman Cho and the Management Innovation team led planning and development for about four months, officially launching the platform in February.

Chairman Cho actively communicates with executives in the IAA by sharing insights on content and proposing ideas. Earlier this month, he directly suggested expanding participation by saying in the chat room, "Let’s have executives from all group affiliates, including Hanon Systems, communicate together through the IAA."

Meanwhile, since Chairman Cho’s inauguration in 2021, Hankook & Company has consistently pursued data and AI strategies such as ▲development of big data-based (intelligent) tires ▲introduction of generative AI-based services ▲operation of the Digital Future Innovation Center ▲AI deep learning and machine learning practice ▲advancement of the Technoring monitoring solution.