Hanwha Solutions pledged a shift to an eco-friendly business and named Vice President Kim Dong-kwan as executive director of the company’s board.

The decisions were made at the firm’s general shareholders meeting at a hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Tuesday. Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, entered the group in 2010.

Having been promoted to vice president of Hanwha Solutions last year, Kim this year has taken the reins of Hanwha Group’s long-term future strategies and new businesses, encompassing solar power, machinery and defense divisions.

Hanwha Solutions is a newly formed corporation upon the merger of Hanwha Chemical and its wholly owned solar-panel subsidiary Hanwha Q Cells and Advanced Materials in January. The merger has been widely seen as part of the group’s effort to prepare for a transfer of leadership to the chairman’s son.

At the meeting, the company said it would diversify its businesses to solar panels, hydrogen cars and the global environment industry to offset the effects of the novel coronavirus outbreak and plummeting oil prices.

For its chemical division, the company said it is currently developing carbon-neutral technology that produces plastic with microorganisms. The company added that it is also planning to break down plastic waste and recycle it into naphtha, a raw material for petrochemical products.

As competition is getting fiercer in the solar power industry, the company is planning to embark on new businesses including energy solutions business. For its advanced materials division, the company said it would increase the sales of materials and parts for electric and hydrogen cars and improve its profitability by advancing the product portfolio.

Meanwhile, the firm increased the number of internal and external board members from nine to 11, citing reinforced responsible governance. The newly appointed external board members include Satoshi Shima, former senior vice president of the CEO‘s office of Softbank Corp., and Amanda Bush, a partner and principal at St. Augustine Capital Partners. It is the first time for the company to recruit a foreign national and a woman to the board.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)