Summary
Kim Chong-hee was the founder of Korea Explosives Company, the predecessor of Hanwha. He was born on Nov. 12, 1922, to Kim Jae-min and Oh Myeong-chul, the second son of four children. He is also known for his bold personality. While attending Gyeonggi Public Commercial School (now Gyeonggi Commercial High School), Kim Chong-hee saw a Japanese student beating up a Korean student, and he stepped in and punched the Japanese student. As a result of this incident, Kim Chong-hee was expelled and transferred to Wonsan Commercial School, where he graduated in 1941.
Shortly after graduation, in 1942, Kim Chong-hee joined the Joseon Gunpowder Joint Market, Inc. and later founded the Korea Explosives Company (now Hanwha) in Busan on Oct. 28, 1952, after the liberation of Korea. In the same year, he took over the defunct Gunpowder Corporation, and in 1955, he restored the Incheon Gunpowder Factory. Kim Chong-hee is also known for being the first Korean to produce his own dynamite. Due to this, Kim Chong-hee has been nicknamed the “Nobel of Korea.” Kim is also credited with laying the groundwork for South Korea’s heavy industry-oriented economic development.
In 1964, Kim Chong-hee took over the Shinhan Bearing Industrial to develop the machinery industry. He also founded the petrochemical company Korea Hwasung Industrial Co., Ltd. In 1969, when there was a shortage of electricity, Kim Chong-hee built Korea’s first private thermal power plant and a large-scale oil refinery, Kyungin Energy. In addition to this, Kim Chong-hee promoted tertiary industries such as dairy farming. He acquired the nearly bankrupt Daeil Dairies to support the small dairy industry, and built the Plaza Hotel (now The Plaza) to create a hotel that would become a landmark in Seoul.
Kim Chong-hee was also known for his socially responsible business practices, and one of his most famous anecdotes is the Iri Station explosion. The Iri Station explosion was a large train explosion that occurred on Nov. 11, 1977, in Iri City (now Iksan City), North Jeolla Province. The accident killed 59 people and injured 1,343 others. The accident occurred when a freight train carrying 40 tons of explosives, including dynamite and electric detonators, was loaded with no one in charge. According to authorities at the time, the accident occurred when a candle lit by a convoy member to illuminate the darkness ignited a box of dynamite.
Kim Chong-hee immediately apologized to the public after the accident and dipped into his fortune to repair the damage, which at the time amounted to 5 billion won. In today’s dollars, that’s about 500 billion won.
He made significant contributions to South Korea in many areas, including education. As a businessman, he built Bugil High School, and as a private diplomat, he is credited with playing an important role in establishing strong diplomatic relations with the United States and Greece.
In his later years, Chairman Kim Chong-hee suffered from malignant kidney failure and neuralgia, and died suddenly at his home on July 23, 1981. He was 59 years old at the time. The sudden death of Chairman Kim Chong-hee led to a battle between his sons, Kim Seung-youn and Kim Ho-youn, for control of the Hanwha Group.
Timeline
▲ November 1922 = Born in Budu-ri, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
▲ 1940 = Dropped out of Gyeonggi Public Commercial School.
▲ 1941 = Graduated from Wonsan Public Commercial School.
▲ October 1952 = Founded Korea Explosives Company (now Hanwha).
▲ 1955 = Acquired a gunpowder factory in Incheon.
▲ 1958 = Started production of dynamite.
▲ 1965 = Established Korea Hwasung Industrial Co., Ltd. (now Hanwha Solutions).
▲ 1967 = Director of the Federation of Korean Industries.
▲ 1967 = Honorary Consul General of Greece in Korea.
▲ 1969 = Established Kyungin Energy.
▲ 1971 = Awarded the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.
▲ 1972 = Established Korea Plastic Industry.
▲ 1973 = Acquired Daeil Dairies (now Binggrae).
▲ 1973 = Awarded the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.
▲ 1973 = Established Taepyeong Development (now Hanwha Development).
▲ 1974 = Established Union Polymer (now Hanwha Compound).
▲ 1974 = Awarded the Iron Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.
▲ 1975 = Established Bugil Academy, a school corporation.
▲ 1976 = Acquired Sungsung Securities (now Hanwha Securities).
▲ 1976 = Seoul Plaza Hotel opened.
▲ 1977 = Vice Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries.
▲ 1981 = Passed away at the age of 59.
▲ 1981 = Awarded the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.
