In a first-time video delivery of New Year greetings to employees, Jo Hyun-bum, Chairman of Hankook & Company, emphasized ‘proactive innovation’ once again in his 2025 New Year message following the previous year. Despite increased market uncertainties, he urged the company to take the lead in the industry through proactive challenges. He also expressed his commitment to achieve a stable integration with Halla Climate Control Corporation, acquired last year, to create synergy.
Hankook & Company Group announced that on the morning of the 2nd, Chairman Jo distributed a video message titled “2025, Towards a Global High-Tech Group” to approximately 24,000 employees of the group. This marks the first time the group has delivered the chairman’s New Year message via video to employees worldwide. The video was translated and shared in 26 languages, including Korean, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.
In his New Year message, Chairman Jo stated, “Let’s not rest on our laurels but continue with the group’s unique proactive challenges,” emphasizing, “The greatest risk is a reluctance to change. Let’s focus more on the goal of becoming a global high-tech group.”
In the message, what Chairman Jo emphasized most was ‘proactive innovation.’ With increased pressure due to market uncertainties demanding more intense innovation, he proposed tackling new challenges together. Since last year, he has consistently highlighted the importance of innovation under the corporate culture of ‘proactive.’
He expressed gratitude to the employees for their efforts in the company’s development, while urging them not to be content with current results or to feel reassured about the stability of their business.
Although the group’s major business sectors achieved favorable results in 2024 thanks to innovative technology and the acquisition of Halla Climate Control, Chairman Jo noted that evaluations from shareholders and stakeholders remain insufficient.
He pointed out that the global automobile market is dynamically changing, with the rapid growth of Chinese automotive brands being one example, and urged the company to dispel any complacency about the stability of their business or anxiety about adverse internal and external conditions. He reiterated that their unchanging goal is to become a global high-tech group, always striving for excellence.
Chairman Jo encouraged employees to confront the numerous tasks ahead in the new year without fear and emphasized that the attitude of fearing change is the most dangerous.
He urged employees to focus on three major tasks for 2025: enhancing sustainable R&D capabilities, accelerating the group’s digital transformation through AI and data-driven strategies, and embarking on “Proactive Season 2.”
He underscored the importance for all members to think and communicate together on how to interpret and use AI and data. He also called for the expansion of a proactive culture, which is both a unique organizational culture of Hankook & Company Group and a core management philosophy of Chairman Jo, where employees actively respond to changes and try different approaches even if they fail.
Specifically, Chairman Jo emphasized, “Let’s continuously innovate sustainable product and service R&D to become leaders in the future mobility ecosystem. Through repeated proactive challenges that persistently seek solutions despite failures, let’s make a clear difference from other companies and focus on our customers.”
He concluded by saying, “Hankook & Company Group employees are at the center of ‘innovation that has become a reality.’ In 2025, let’s showcase the value of a global high-tech group through collaboration, communication, and creation, and work together to solve challenges.”
Finally, reflecting on the symbol of the Blue Snake for 2025, Chairman Jo encouraged everyone to wisely adapt to changes with enjoyment, aiming to draw closer to the goal of becoming a global high-tech group with greater competitiveness.