At a ceremony held at the company's headquarters Tuesday in Yeouido, Seoul, Chief Executive Choi Won-hyok and about 100 employees gathered to formally launch the vision statement "Move Beyond Maritime," which the company described as a commitment to becoming a world-class integrated shipping and logistics group.
To anchor the new direction, HMM introduced a four-pillar strategy dubbed "W.A.V.E." — covering workforce development, AI-driven innovation, value-based growth, and environmental transformation. The framework reflects HMM's push to secure long-term competitiveness through talent, technology, and green transition.
"Over the past half-century, we have weathered countless choices, challenges, hardships, and successes," Choi said.
"All of our achievements stem from the dedicated efforts of those who have worked at sea and on the ground, at home and abroad."
He added that HMM must now set sail on another voyage toward becoming a centennial company, and called on employees to work together toward joining the ranks of global top-tier carriers.
Founded in 1976 with three tankers, HMM expanded into full containerization by 1986 and launched South Korea's first LNG carrier in 1994. The company posted a record operating profit of about 9.9 trillion won in 2022 after clawing back from a prolonged industry downturn in the 2010s, a revival driven in part by its 2020 delivery of the then-world's largest 24,000 TEU container vessels.
HMM said it has since pressed ahead with decarbonization and digitalization efforts, becoming the first domestic carrier to secure methanol- and LNG-fueled container ships, while building a big-data analytics system through a centralized ship operations center.
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