[New Year's Message] Cho Hyun-sik, Vice Chairman of Korea Technology Group, "Top Priority is 'Innovation'... Expanding Project Teams"

"Early Establishment of Open Innovation Including Innovation from the Customer Perspective and Digital Innovation"

Cho Hyun-sik, Vice Chairman and CEO of Korea Technology Group (Photo by Korea Technology Group)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Cho Hyun-sik, Vice Chairman of Korea Technology Group, said on the 3rd, "In order to realize sustainable innovation for the group amid a challenging business environment, innovation in core business areas must be prioritized as the foremost task."

In his New Year's address, Vice Chairman Cho stated, "We must secure global competitiveness in research and development (R&D), production, distribution, and sales to gain an advantage in competition with leading companies, and further solidify our status as a premium brand."

Vice Chairman Cho evaluated last year as "the starting point where Korea Technology Group laid the foundation for realizing innovation." He said, "Our major business company, Hankook Tire & Technology, supplied new car tires for flagship premium SUVs such as the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q8, showcasing the value of our premium brand worldwide," adding, "For the fourth consecutive year, we were included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World Index, proving our status as a leading global sustainable management company."

However, regarding the recent business environment, he acknowledged, "It is true that concerns among key stakeholders, including shareholders, are growing due to low growth in the automotive industry, including the tire sector."

Accordingly, Vice Chairman Cho explained that innovation must be achieved in the foundational areas of the business, and digital innovation must be accelerated. He urged, "Please focus all capabilities on expanding market share in each market through customer-centric innovation in areas fundamental to the business such as products, distribution, and sales," emphasizing, "The group will also concentrate on investments and M&A in fields that can strengthen core business capabilities."

He also said, "To secure the group's sustainable future competitiveness, we will accelerate digital innovation such as big data analysis and smart factories, and strive to establish an open innovation culture through industry-academia cooperation and in-house ventures," adding, "The company will continuously work to improve workspaces and establish systems that can realize innovative ideas to support innovation in work methods."

Finally, Vice Chairman Cho expressed his aspiration, saying, "This year should be a year in which all affiliates of the group create synergy through collaboration and communication-centered work," and "To this end, we plan to activate project organizations capable of rapid decision-making and expand fast organizations focused on tasks or results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.