Hanwha Solutions(009830) created a business head organization for the chemical institutional sector and appointed Kim In-hwan, head of Hanwha Advanced Materials, to lead it. As the slump in the petrochemical industry lengthens, the move is intended to boost business competitiveness and shift the portfolio toward high value-added products.
On the 2nd, the petrochemical industry said Hanwha Solutions recently appointed Kim as head of the chemical institutional sector. Kim will oversee key pending issues and mid- to long-term business strategy for the chemical institutional sector. The chemical institutional sector produces caustic soda, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyolefin (PO).
The chemical institutional sector is set to be run under a co-leadership system by CEO Nam Jeong-un and Kim. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen business operations and mid- to long-term strategy in response to oversupply from China and weak demand.
The chemical institutional sector posted an operating loss of 249.1 billion won last year. In the second quarter of this year, it returned to the black with an operating profit of 87.1 billion won. Due to supply disruptions in the Middle East that drove first-half improvement, the outlook for the second half is negative.
Kim is an engineer-turned-executive who has overseen chemical and materials businesses at Hanwha Group for more than 30 years. Born in 1968, Kim joined Hanwha in 1993. At Hanwha Chemical, Kim served as head of the materials business team in the solar business unit, head of polysilicon business planning, and head of the polysilicon business division.
In 2018, Kim moved to Hanwha TotalEnergies and led the resins business institutional sector for about four years. In 2022, Kim moved to head the advanced materials institutional sector at Hanwha Solutions, and at the end of the same year became head of Hanwha Advanced Materials, which was launched after a physical partitioning of the advanced materials institutional sector.
A Hanwha Solutions official said, "We created a business head organization and appointed Kim to strengthen business execution."