CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik marked the 2026 new year by saying, "With AI (artificial intelligence) at the center, digital technology has become the top competitive edge for nations and corporations, and the global trade order is rapidly fragmenting according to national and regional interests. We are in an era where business strategies prepared with the grammar of the past become useless in an instant," adding, "This year must be a year when CJ prepares for and carries out another leap forward."
On the 2nd, the chairman delivered his New Year's address with these points via the in-house broadcast.
Regarding last year's group performance, the chairman said, "There were achievements in some businesses, but overall the group fell short of expectations," and assessed, "There were limits to temporary responses for short-term performance improvement, and it was a year that confirmed we needed more preparation in strengthening mid- to long-term competitiveness and building a foundation for future growth."
However, he dismissed the notion that current difficulties mean limits for CJ Group. The chairman said, "Consumers around the world are embracing K food, content and beauty—K-lifestyle—at a pace incomparable to the past," adding, "In almost all business areas CJ engages in—food, logistics, beauty and content—the doors to new markets are opening."
He continued, "This trend is not a passing fad but the formation of a new global consumer culture. At its center are CJ's asset and experience that have driven the globalization of Hallyu for more than 20 years," adding, "Now, when uncertainty and opportunity coexist, is precisely the decisive moment to declare another leap forward."
He also laid out three tasks to achieve this. The chairman urged, "Relentlessly create small wins and rapidly spread them across the organization to build broad buy-in." He said, "Change starts not with a grand strategy but with small wins on the front line," adding, "When each company's and each department's small but meaningful achievements are repeated and shared, the organization's constitution changes and we can prepare for future growth."
The chairman also emphasized "rapid execution" to lead the K-trend market. He said, "We live in an era where who moves first determines the winner of the future market," adding, "In every area—decision-making, product development, global expansion, and forming partnerships—speed itself is competitiveness and the key condition for growth."
Third, the task he called for was setting bold goals and taking on challenges. He said, "Low targets breed complacency and block organizational change," adding, "When talent unafraid of failure takes on higher goals, a completely different path to growth opens."
He went on, "We stand at a do-or-die moment that will determine the group's future," adding, "We must accurately understand the rapidly changing business environment, proactively leverage government policies at home and abroad, and actively introduce AI and digital technologies into the business front lines to accelerate the execution of our core tasks."
He also emphasized, "From this year, execute more boldly and quickly so that people around the world can enjoy the values CJ pursues—health, joy and convenience."