[New Year's Address] HD Hyundai Chairman Jung Ki-sun: "Let's Forge Our Own Path with Unmatched Technology and Fearless Challenges"

Jung Ki-sun, Chairman of HD Hyundai, ushered in the New Year of 2026 by emphasizing the importance of 'unmatched technology' and 'fearless challenges,' urging everyone to navigate the uncertain business environment together.

Jung Ki-sun, Chairman of HD Hyundai, delivered a New Year's message to employees. HD Hyundai

In his New Year's address delivered on the 31st, Chairman Jung stated, "With the global economy reverting to protectionism and China rapidly expanding its presence in the global market, next year's business environment is truly shrouded in fog."

Reflecting on the past year, Chairman Jung said, "HD Hyundai became the fifth Korean company to join the 100 trillion won market capitalization club, and through restructuring in shipbuilding, construction equipment, and petrochemicals, we have laid the foundation for a new leap forward." He added, "We are establishing ourselves as a 'company that inspires trust in the market' and 'a company essential to the Korean economy.'" However, he also pointed out that "major competitor countries are scaling up and strengthening competitiveness through mergers and alliances between companies. In particular, while our group maintains the top position globally in shipbuilding, China is ahead in quantitative terms such as order volume and is also fiercely catching up in qualitative aspects like quality."

As solutions to overcome these challenges, Chairman Jung proposed: ▲unmatched technology and products ▲fearless challenges ▲a healthy organization.

Chairman Jung stressed, "Technological superiority never lasts forever, and there have been many cases where the gap closed rapidly. We must achieve breakthrough improvements in quality, performance, and cost through bold innovation, but above all, we must continuously develop technologies that can be practically applied in the field to maintain our technological edge." He continued, "We are already seeing meaningful results in future businesses that our group is focusing on, such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous navigation, fuel cells, electric propulsion, battery packs, robotics, and small modular reactors (SMRs). Based on this momentum, let us secure fundamental technologies early and commercialize them."

Chairman Jung defined fearless challenges as "the courage to step into uncharted territory for the first time, armed with what we do best." He explained, "When we venture into unfamiliar fields, it is only natural to instinctively fear failure, but this is actually a sign that we are standing before even greater possibilities."

He also stated, "A healthy organization is one that delivers results while enabling its members to fully engage in their work and supporting their growth," promising, "To build such an organization, I will take the lead in listening and communicating."

Finally, Chairman Jung highlighted safety as the group's core value, stating, "If the safety of all of us is not guaranteed, all our efforts toward bold innovation and fearless challenges will come to nothing. Please join forces to ensure our workplace is safe."