Summary
Hanwha Group’s current Chairman Kim Seung-youn was born in 1952, the eldest of two sons and one daughter of Hanwha Group founder Kim Chong-hee. Kim Chong-hee personally took him to the factory to learn business while he was still a student at Kyunggi High School.
Kim transferred to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, a boarding school in Minnesota, USA. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Menlo College and a master’s degree in international politics from DePaul University. In 1981, however, Kim’s life took a new turn when his father, Kim Chong-hee, passed away suddenly after suffering from heart failure and diabetes.
Kim was only 29 years old when he became the chairman of Hanwha Group. Despite his young age, he used his charisma to dominate the Hanwha executive team and the board of directors. Shortly after taking over, in 1982, he decided to acquire Hanyang Chemical and Dow Chemical, both of which were in poor financial condition.
In the aftermath of the Second Oil Crisis, Dow Chemical, the world’s largest petrochemical company, decided to withdraw from Korea, and Hanyang Chemical and Dow Chemical Korea were put up for sale. At the time, the deficits of the two companies were 7.5 billion won and 43 billion won, respectively.
Despite the opposition, Chairman Kim Seung-youn was not deterred from the merger, and within a year of the acquisition, both companies were back on track to make profits. Today, the two companies form the chemicals division of Hanwha Solutions, the backbone of the Hanwha Group.
In addition to this, Chairman Kim’s entrepreneurial spirit has led him to merge several companies. Starting with Junga Group’s Myungsung Condo in 1985, Kim entered the leisure and retail business with a series of acquisitions, including Hanyang Distribution in 1986 and Dongyang Department Store in 2000.
In 2002, he acquired Daehan Life insurance company, which had accumulated losses of 3 trillion won at the time. With Daehan Life (now Hanwha Life insurance company), Kim built a portfolio of financial companies including life insurance, health insurance, securities, asset management, and savings banks.
One of Kim’s most successful M&A deals was the acquisition of Samsung Group’s defense and chemical companies. In 2014, Kim acquired Samsung Global Chemicals, Samsung Total (petrochemicals), Samsung Techwin (aviation components), and Samsung Thales (defense) all at once. At the time, many were concerned that he was “sweeping up unprofitable companies,” but it is now considered one of Hanwha’s most successful M&A stories.
Kim’s chemical companies have become the group’s cash cows, while the defense companies have become the cornerstone of Hanwha’s entry into the aerospace business, the company’s future.
Even during the 1998 foreign exchange crisis that plunged South Korea’s economy into a tailspin, Kim’s bold restructuring helped the company to survive. He planned to sell off the group’s core affiliates, including Hanwha Energy and Hanwha Machinery. At the time, executives were concerned about selling Hanwha’s core affiliates, but Kim’s decision allowed the group to quickly infuse capital.
In 2022, Kim took on a new challenge when he decided to make a new acquisition, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Industry observers believe that Hanwha’s defense and energy business will gain momentum with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering under its wing. It’s because if Hanhwa acquires Daewoo, Hanhwa could have an integrated defense system of land, sea, and airspace, which can provide synergies in the energy business such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Kim is considered one of South Korea’s most successful second-generation business leaders. Not only did he lead Hanwha’s growth through successful mergers and acquisitions, but he also saved the company from a major crisis known as the ‘foreign exchange crisis’. When Kim’s father, Chairman Kim Chong-hee, took the helm, Hanwha was ranked ninth in Korea’s wealthiest companies, but today it is ranked seventh. As of the first half of 2022, Hanwha has 93 affiliates and 664 overseas networks.
Words like “fiery” and “charismatic” well describe Kim. He is also known for his emphasis on loyalty and trust. During the 1998 IMF crisis(foreign exchange crisis), Kim personally wrote letters to employees who were leaving Hanwha due to company sales and voluntary retirement. He also gave all employees a ‘paid vacation’ when the Seoul Plaza Hotel was closed for three months in 2010.
But his temperament has provoked many controversies. Perhaps the most controversial happening was in the year of 2007. Kim’s second son, Kim Dong-won, got into a fight at a bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with eight people who worked in a Club.
The one-sided beating left Kim Dong-won with wounds, including in the eye area, and an enraged Kim led his bodyguards and local gangsters to beat them severely in the Cheonggye mountain neighborhood. Kim paid bribes worth hundreds of millions of won to downplay and cover up the incident, but he was caught and sentenced in the second trial to one year and six months in prison, two years of probation, and 200 hours of community service.
In addition to this, Kim has been embroiled in a property rights dispute with his brother Kim Ho-youn, embezzlement charges in both 1993 and 2012. He stepped down from chairman of Hanwha Group in 2014 after taking responsibility for the embezzlement allegations, but returned to management in 2021 as an unlisted executive of Hanwha, Hanwha Solutions, and Hanwha E&C.
Timeline
▲ February 7, 1952 = Born in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
▲ 1964 = Graduated from Shattuck-St. Mary’s School.
▲ 1974 = Graduated from Menlo College, Department of Business Administration.
▲ 1976 = Master of Arts in International Politics, DePaul University Graduate School.
▲ 1981 = Appointed as a chairman of Hanwha Group.
▲ 1984–1993 = Honorary Consul General of Greece in Korea.
▲ 1991 = Vice Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries.
▲ 1992–1998 = Chairman of the Kyunghyang Shinmun.
▲ 1994 = Director of United Nations Korea Association.
▲ 1995 = Awarded the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.
▲ 1996 = Received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Sogang University.
▲ 1996–2000 = Chairman of Hanwha Bank, Hungary.
▲ 1998 = Honorary Chairman of Korea-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
▲ 1998 = Awarded Medals of Merit of Korean Red Cross.
▲ 2000 = Vice Chairman of Korea-Japan Economic Association.
▲ 2000–2002 = Chairman of Hanwha Petrochemicals.
▲ 2001 = Founder and first president of the Korea-U.S. Exchange Association.
▲ 2002–2005 = Chairman of the Board of Directors, Daewoo Life Insurance (now Hanwha Life).
▲ 2005–2007 = Re-appointed as CEO and Chairman of Hanwha Group.
▲ 2006 = President of the United Nations Korea Association.
▲ 2008–2014 = CEO of Hanwha Group.
▲ 2021 = Return to management.
