Hanwha’s youngest heir steps closer to inheriting construction unit
Hanwha Corporation Vice President Kim Dong-seon speaks during the opening ceremony of Five Guys Gangnam in Seoul in this June 2023 file photo. Newsis
Hanwha Group appears to be preparing for the transfer of its construction unit’s control from the chairman to his youngest son, who was appointed this month as the vice president to lead the company’s overseas construction projects, according to industry officials, Sunday.
Kim Dong-seon, the chairman’s youngest son in charge of strategies for Hanwha’s retail, hotel and robotics affiliates, joined the group’s de facto holding firm, Hanwha Corporation, to work at its engineering & construction (E&C) division. This came about seven years after he left Hanwha’s construction unit over the allegation that he had assaulted new employees at law firm Kim & Chang during a binge-drinking session at a bar in Seoul.
Since returning to Hanwha Group in late 2020, the vice chairman has worked for Hanwha Hotels & Resorts and Hanwha Galleria, which was spun off from Hanwha Solutions in 2022. Citing the potential use of robots at hotels and restaurants, he has also devised strategies for Hanwha Robotics, which was spun off from Hanwha Corporation/Momentum in 2023.
He especially drew attention last year when Hanwha Galleria won the license to run the hamburger chain Five Guys in Korea.
However, the 34-year-old is considered to have not yet proven his management ability, given that all the five Galleria department stores suffered sales declines last year. Five Guys only generated 3.6 billion won ($2.7 million) in revenue here during the first three months after its launch last June.
Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, second row center, poses with Hanwha Corporation Vice President Kim Dong-seon, second row left, during the signing ceremony for the Bismayah New City construction project at the Iraqi prime minister's office in Baghdad in this 2012 file photo. Courtesy of Hanwha Group
Based on his experience working in Iraq in 2014, he is therefore expected to try to prove himself by leading the Bismayah New City construction project in the Middle Eastern country, which is about to resume as the Iraqi government decided last year to pay the overdue construction costs to the Korean firm.
Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon is viewed as another place where he will try to show his capability, as the American casino resort’s operation is consigned to Hanwha Hotels & Resorts. Hanwha Corporation/E&C also built and financed the resort.
In addition, he will be the first of his siblings to attend the CES tech trade show in Las Vegas. Along with Lotte, SK and HD Hyundai scions taking part in the world’s largest tech fair this month, the youngest Hanwha heir is expected to expand his presence by showing interest in new technologies.
“For Hanwha Group’s three-way split among the chairman’s three sons, Hanwha E&C could be spun off from Hanwha Corporation, just as Hanwha Galleria was spun off from Hanwha Solutions,” an industry official said.
Despite the group’s continued denials, industry officials have anticipated in recent years that the chairman’s oldest son, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, will inherit the group’s flagship defense and energy businesses, while the second-oldest son, Hanwha Life Insurance President Kim Dong-won, will continue directing the group’s financial subsidiaries. The youngest son has been expected to lead the group’s hotel, leisure and retail businesses.