Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn. [Hanwha Group]
Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn. [Hanwha Group]

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn has sent health food gifts to all of the conglomerate's roughly 69,000 domestic employees as a gesture of appreciation and encouragement.

Hanwha Group said Thursday that Kim sent sets of traditional Korean health foods — samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), galbi-tang (short rib soup) and seolleongtang (ox bone soup) — directly to each employee's home to help them stay healthy during the summer heat. The roughly 3 billion won ($2.2 million) cost came entirely from Kim's personal funds.

In a message enclosed with the gift, Kim said he was "deeply grateful for the dedication of each and every employee who quietly gave their best from their own position, even amid relentless challenges and hardships." He added that he hoped "this small token of sincerity will contribute to the health of you and your families."

Kim has long shown genuine affection toward individual employees who carry out their duties without wavering, even under demanding circumstances. A core tenet of his management philosophy, the company said, is the belief that the families standing beside employees deserve care as well.

In practice, Kim has sent good-luck gifts and encouraging letters to employees' children ahead of the College Scholastic Ability Test every year since 2004, and the total number of family members who received such gifts and letters reached 80,000 through last year. He also sent letters and flowers wishing a speedy recovery to employees who contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic. "The health food gift carries Chairman Kim's love for employees and their families, whom he holds dear," a Hanwha Group official said.


keg@heraldcorp.com