• Chairman of Hanwha Group
    Kim Seung-yeon

    Building Korea's Lockheed Martin: Paving Way for Third-Generation Leadership

    Last Updated on Jul 3, 2024

Life Summary

Kim Seung-yeon is the chairman of Hanwha Group.

He is transferring management rights to his three sons, with the eldest son, Kim Dong-kwan, the vice chairman of Hanwha Group, at the center.

Through the strategic acquisition of Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), he dreams of creating Korea's Lockheed Martin.

He was born on February 7, 1952, in Cheonan, Chungnam, as the eldest son of Kim Chong-hee, the founder of Hanwha Group (then Korea Explosives Group).

He left for the United States to study while attending Seoul Kyunggi High School.

He graduated from Menlo College with a degree in Business Administration and received a master's degree in International Politics from DePaul University.

After his father's death, he became chairman at the age of 29 and quickly expanded the scale of Hanwha Group.

During the process of overcoming the IMF bailout crisis, he earned the reputation of being a restructuring wizard.

Although he was convicted on charges of embezzlement and resigned from the representative director positions of Hanwha and six other affiliates, he maintained his position as the group chairman.

In 2021, he officially returned to group management after seven years by taking on non-registered executive roles at Hanwha, Hanwha Solutions, and Hanwha Construction.

He upholds trust as his management philosophy and has created a unique organizational culture that values loyalty.

He is solidifying the succession structure by guiding his three sons in the subsidiaries they are managing, one by one.

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