Hanwha Chairman's eldest son promoted

By Lee Hyo-sik

Kim Dong-kwan, COO of Hanwha Q Cells

Kim Dong-kwan, eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, has been promoted to senior managing director for Hanwha Q Cells, the country’s ninth-largest family controlled conglomerate said Sunday.

But the chairman’s two other sons, who each work at Hanwha Life Insurance and Hanwha Engineering & Construction, were not part of the year-end personnel reshuffle.

Dong-kwan, who has been acting as chief commercial officer (CCO) of Hanwha Q Cells, the group’s solar business unit, since January 2015, is widely credited for the company’s successful bids for solar panel supply deals over the past year.

The junior Kim also successfully led the firm’s restructuring, helping to turn it into a profitable entity, the group said.

After acquiring Germany-based Q Cells in 2012, Hanwha merged it with Hanwha SolarOne and renamed the new entity as Hanwha Q Cells early this year.

“Kim was promoted to senior managing director for his contribution to creating the world’s largest solar cell manufacturer,” a Hanwha Group spokesman said. “He has been playing a crucial role in transforming Hanwha Q Cells into an efficiently-run entity and helped it achieve record earnings in the third quarter of this year.”

The company posted a $40.3 million operating profit in the third quarter, its first quarterly profit in four years.

Kim also played a leading role in securing a series of supply deals over the past year, including a 1.5-gigawatt solar module supply contract with U.S.-based NextEra Energy Resources in April, the spokesman said.

“The group also promoted four heads of business units to vice president,” he said. “In total, 114 executives were promoted in the latest reshuffle, which involved fewer personnel than normal. The latest reshuffle was strictly in accordance with professional performance.”

Choi Yang-soo, head Hanwha Corp’s gunpowder business division, was promoted to vice president, while Lee Tae-jong, chief of Hanwha Corp.’s defense unit, also became a vice president.

Kim Yeon-chul, head of Hanwha Corp.’s machinery division, and Kwon Hyuk-woong, head of Hanwha Group’s human resources division, became vice presidents.

Dong-won, the chairman’s second son, is a digital team leader at Hanwha Life Insurance, while the chairman’s third son Dong-seon works at the group’s construction unit.