On Dec. 3, Huh Tae-soo will celebrate his fourth anniversary as the Chairman of GS Group. Since his appointment, Huh Tae-soo has actively pursued new business opportunities. The industry is now waiting to see if he can deliver concrete results.
Huh Tae-soo took over as Chairman of GS Group on Dec. 3, 2019, following the retirement of his brother, Chairman Emeritus Huh Chang-Soo. He officially assumed the position in February of the following year.
Born in 1957, Huh Tae-soo is the fifth son of the late Chairman Emeritus Huh Jun-koo, who was the third son of the late founder Huh Man-jung. Before leading GS Group, he was in charge of GS Home Shopping and was known for his expertise in investment. During his tenure, he focused on discovering new businesses by communicating with partners and start-ups. He also has experience in investment banking.
Under the leadership of Huh Tae-soo, GS Group witnessed exceptional growth in its operational profit, which increased almost fivefold to 5.51 trillion won in the last year from 94.32 billion won in 2020, the year he took over. During the same period, the assets of GS Group grew by 22.5% from 66.753 trillion won to 81.836 trillion won, while revenue increased by 87% from 15.3461 trillion won to 28.777 trillion won.
Since Huh Tae-soo assumed the leadership, GS Group has broadened its focus from conventional sectors such as oil refining, energy, and construction to emerging businesses. GS Caltex, a subsidiary of GS Energy, represents its primary source of revenue, but the company aims to expand its portfolio by spotting potential prospects.
One of the most notable ventures that the group has taken on is in the green business. This year, GS Caltex signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korean Air and HMM for a demonstration project on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This project is in line with the Eco-friendly Biofuel Promotion Alliance initiated by the government in October last year. GS Caltex also signed a joint venture with POSCO International to refine biofuel in Indonesia.
GS Group is expanding into the secondary battery sector as well. Last year, in partnership with POSCO Holdings, GS Energy established a joint venture named POSCO GS Eco Materials, which focuses on recycling secondary batteries. In November 2023, the company successfully completed the construction of POSCO HY Clean Metal plant. This is a joint venture between POSCO, China's Huayou Cobalt, and GS Energy, aimed at recycling secondary batteries.