KOREA WHO

Kim Hee-cheul is the President and CEO of Hanwha Ocean.

He is currently focusing on the seamless production of commercial vessels ordered during the boom in the shipbuilding industry, while also expanding the company’s business portfolio to include special-purpose ships and offshore plants.

Amid opportunities such as the opening of the U.S. warship market and U.S.-Korea cooperation in shipbuilding, he is striving to win new ship orders by acquiring overseas shipyards and transferring South Korea’s shipbuilding expertise abroad.

He was born on October 10, 1964, in Daegu.

He graduated from Sungkwang High School in Daegu and earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Seoul National University. He then obtained a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the same university and completed an MBA program at the University of Washington Business School in the United States.

Kim joined Hanwha Group and was appointed CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS in 2012. Since then, he has served as CEO of several key affiliates, including Hanwha SolarOne, Hanwha General Chemical, Hanwha Total, Hanwha Impact, and Hanwha Energy’s holding division, leading the group’s chemical, materials, and solar energy businesses.

In 2024, he was named CEO of Hanwha Ocean.

He is regarded as one of Hanwha Group’s top strategy experts and served as head of the task force team for the chemical division during the major “big deal” between Hanwha Group and Samsung Group.

Kim also served as an adjunct professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University and is a full member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, specializing in chemistry.

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