[New Year's Address] Ecopro Chairman Lee Dongchae: "No Future Without Technological Prowess... We Must Have a Sense of Ownership"

"All 3,600 Employees Are the Owners of Ecopro"
Maintaining a Technology-Centric Focus Amid Secondary Battery Market Downturn
Advancing Overseas Hubs in Hungary and Indonesia

Ecopro has announced that its management direction for the new year will focus on strengthening its technological competitiveness, even amid the downturn in the secondary battery market.

Lee Dongchae, the founder and Chairman of Ecopro, stated at the kick-off meeting held on the 2nd at the company's headquarters in Cheongju, Chungbuk, "To overcome the challenging external environment, we must secure fundamental technological competitiveness," and added, "Let us each find our own path with a sense of responsibility and ownership." For this year, Ecopro has set its main management policies as follows: ▲ strengthening technological leadership ▲ advancing overseas business sites ▲ diversifying its customer base ▲ and establishing a profitable structure by reinforcing profit and loss management.

Lee Dongchae, Chairman of Ecopro, is delivering the New Year's address at the group kick-off meeting held on the 2nd at the headquarters in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Ecopro

Chairman Lee said, "For Ecopro, which has grown through technology, differentiated research and development (R&D) capabilities are essential to overcome the current situation," adding, "There is no future without technological strength." Ecopro plans to secure new technologies through open innovation and other initiatives.

Regarding overseas business, the company has set "Global Management 2.0" as its key theme for the year. The company aims to advance operations at its overseas sites, focusing on its Hungarian plant, which serves as its European outpost, and its smelter in Indonesia. The Hungarian plant will refine its quality, safety, and environmental management systems with the goal of starting commercial production in the first half of the year, while the Indonesian business will gradually improve its profit structure to serve as a foundation for global competitiveness.

In terms of customer strategy, Chairman Lee emphasized trust as a key value. He stated, "It is important to provide differentiated technology from the perspective of growing together with our customers," and added, "With major partners such as Samsung SDI and SK On, we must go further together." He announced that the company will not only maintain relationships with existing customers but also work to secure new ones.

On the profit and loss front, the company aims to reduce losses at all business sites and transition to a profitable structure. Plans include increasing operating rates, reducing costs, and optimizing facilities to boost efficiency, as well as improving the cost structure by utilizing physical resources among affiliates.

Chairman Lee said, "All 3,600 employees are the owners of Ecopro," adding, "If everyone fulfills their role in their respective positions, we will be able to achieve the management goals set for this year."