Chairman’s Message Commemorating
Hanwha’s 68th Anniversary

Today we celebrate Hanwha’s 68th anniversary. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of my fellow Hanwha colleagues, who are continuing to make history together this year, despite these difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the chairman of Hanwha, I have weathered many crises with you, including the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. However, COVID-19 is unlike anything we have experienced before, and has fundamentally shaken both the economy and our daily lives.

The COVID-19 crisis has triggered a major paradigm shift. We have seen a new generation of strong market players emerging in an economic landscape shaped by entirely new rules, including social distancing. To successfully navigate this shift, we must go beyond innovation and continue to make history with the firm belief that the best way to anticipate the future is to create it.

First, we must equip ourselves with the business strategies and advanced capabilities required to lead the post-COVID-19 era.

As stated before, the post-COVID-19 industrial landscape will be defined by entirely new rules. Deglobalization, in which nations prioritize their own interests, will continue to gain momentum; contactless interactions will become the norm; and companies must be capable of responding rapidly and intelligently to crises, or future pandemics. We at Hanwha will need to objectively analyze whether our businesses can survive this changing industrial landscape. While strengthening internal stability, strategic changes need to be made.

Efforts to identify and invest in new growth engines will lay the foundation for us to lead the post-COVID-19 era. While others hide, we must press on. We must continue to shape the future, and our management activities must be strategic and purposeful.

We must build agile crisis response systems, with digitized infrastructure and a flexible organizational culture.

I have long emphasized the need to accelerate Hanwha’s digital transformation. The digital infrastructure that we have steadily installed has proven its effectiveness in the COVID-19 era. With contactless interactions inevitably becoming the norm, we will continue to accelerate our digital transformation to create a working environment that is no longer confined by space.

Creating an organizational culture that is flexible enough to integrate Millennials into the existing workforce is also a matter of urgency. Building this culture, and accelerating our digital transformation, will enable us to create a company that can stand strong through any crisis.

In addition, our financial services business, which is fully prepared for the next phase of finance through FinTech and digital transformation; our manufacturing business, which combines Big Data and AI to create smart factories; and our services and leisure business, which enhances our customers’ daily lives with experiences powered by digital technology, will all accelerate their transition to lead in this new, post-COVID-19 world.

We must create a more sustainable company with transparent and responsible management.

In the future, companies will be evaluated for their economic, social and environmental sustainability in all areas of management. Already, these factors have become key indicators of a company’s future prospects.

The global climate crisis has placed more focus on corporate responsibility for the environment than ever before. As a leader in the global green economy, Hanwha will actively participate in a Global Green New Deal. To this end, we will accelerate environmental innovation across our solar energy business, as well as our green hydrogen energy solutions and eco-friendly plastic materials technology.

It is also important that we enhance the transparency of our management activities for stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and communities. Hanwha will continue to grow with all its stakeholders, going above and beyond the basic legal requirements, in order to meet global standards for business ethics. The trust we earn by being strict on ourselves will be the wings that offer Hanwha’s business activities the freedom to reach new heights.

Dear Hanwha Family,

For the unprepared, crisis creates confusion. However, for those who are ready, a crisis can be the catalyst for the creation of a new future. Although the COVID-19 crisis came without warning, for Hanwha, the solution to this situation is already embedded in us; the unwavering commitment to innovation that is evident throughout our history that has made us who we are today. Let us use this crisis as an opportunity to bounce back stronger and create a company that will thrive for the next 100 years and beyond.

Last but not least, as the risk of COVID-19 infection is still very present, I wish all of my Hanwha colleagues and their families good health during these difficult times.

Thank you.