Kunhwa Has High Hopes of Being World Class Company

Grows from strength to strength to join the ranks of the top five

Thanks to the endless efforts of Kunhwa Chairman Hwang Kwang-ung and his staff’s experience and wide range of technological expertise, Kunhwa has grown from strength to strength to join the ranks of the top five among the more than 2,500 Korean construction engineering companies. Furthermore, Kunhwa is now building a solid foundation for evolving into a world-class company.
Kunhwa Consulting & Engineering Co., is Korea’s leading comprehensive engineering company with a track record of design and supervision projects supporting economic and social activities ― ranging from expressways, national/regional roads, long span bridges and specially designed bridges, tunnels, water intake facilities, water treatment facilities, water supply and distribution facilities, waste treatment installations, urban management planning, urban and district development projects, housing development, industrial complex development, leisure and tourism attraction development, general refuse and food waste treatment facilities, water resources management and development, port development, subway and railroad construction, and environmental and traffic impact assessment since its establishment on March 26, 1990.
Starting in 2007, the company has been pursuing external growth and has made footholds in South/Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa by delivering large-sized urban development and resort development projects in Vietnam, an industrial complex project in India, a waste water treatment facility project in Cambodia, an urban development project in Libya and a railroad project in the Republic of the Congo.
At the same time, Kunhwa has strived to secure internal capabilities by maintaining financial soundness in order to transform itself into a truly world-class firm in terms of soundness, profitability and growth. Taking a look at even a few of its corporate figures, one finds financial soundness. Kunhwa has almost no debt, which is a good measure for financial soundness, profitability and growth potential. The company has registered an average annual net profit margin of over 7 percent vs. sales in the recent five years. It has also posted very robust growth, riding on a roughly 70-fold surge in sales compared to that since its establishment, with an annual average sales increase of 23 percent.
Kunhwa employs approximately 1,100 prominent engineers, including 190 certified professional engineers and 470 certified fundamental engineers. Of the staff, there are 240 who hold master’s and doctorate degrees. Making available of skillful manpower contribution to the nation’s industrial development, particularly in the development of technology and policies in the water industry, Kunhwa was recently presented a presidential award. Kunhwa’s successful application of the TRcM+CAM method, the world’s very first implementation of such one, in the construction of the Express Bus Terminal Subway, Kunhwa won the Civil Engineering Grand Prize from the Korea Society of Civil Engineering. This station was also selected as the Structure of the Year in 2009 and grabbed the Brunel Medal, the most coveted engineering prize, awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineering of the United Kingdom (ICE) to individuals and organizations in recognition of their contribution to the development of civil engineering in the construction and environment field.
Technology R&D is one of Kunhwa’s priority areas. The company has invested huge R&D outlays, almost 5 percent of its annual sales. Its in-house research institute with a 60-member staff is focusing on the development of new technologies under an industry-academia research collaboration regime. Kunhwa’s efforts have paid off ― it possesses about 110 separate new technologies, patents and utility models. In particular, Kunhwa is participating in a plethora of industry-academia research collaboration tasks, including a study on the U-Eco City test-bed, a national territory and ocean technology R&D project designed to enhance the quality of people’s lives, and research on remodeling ports.
Kunhwa makes the most of an internal control system by cutting down on costs, optimizing manpower placement and making swift decisions through companywide personnel and labor affairs, financing and accounting, project execution management via the Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP), developed by its in-house data processing office. The company is also putting more weight into quality control as it has been certified with the quality management system ISO 9001 and the environmental management system ISO 14001 in civil engineering, architecture, mechanics, electronics, instrumentation, railway and environment. Kunhwa was awarded a certification in road and railroad, tap water and sewerage, water resources and port sectors from the Society of Korea Value Engineers by successfully conducting value engineering innovation activities, and it also won the 2009 Korea VE Grand Prize.
Kunhwa has spared no efforts to invest in improving the welfare of its staff. One of the welfare programs are the tuition support to the children of its staff from kindergarten to college, benefit of a free stay at condominiums in 18 places across the nation and the company supports in staff’s in-house club activities. The company provides financial assistance to staff members who study foreign languages and advanced computer programs. Every year, Kunhwa offers an opening for new employment and it also refrains from honorary retirement and layoffs to allow continued employment.
Kunhwa is also throwing its heart and soul into conducting volunteer and charity activities to contribute to society. One of the company’s volunteer activities was the establishment of a sisterhood relationship in January 2006 with the village of Samseongri, Ganghwa Isalnd , where its executive and staff members volunteer to participate in the village’s sweet potatoes harvest and purchased them. Every year, Kunhwa buys 2,500 20-kg rice bags from the village to dole them out to its staff as a year-end gift and offers furniture and health equipment for the elderly and other necessities for the community hall in the village .
Kunhwa held a wide range of events celebrating the 20th anniversary of its establishment on March 262010, At the event, Kunhwa praised its executives and staff members who have contributed to the development of the company throughout the years and expressed its appreciation to those who extend support and assistance. Prior to the events, new corporate motto and slogan for the company’s continued strong growth with the goal of imbuing its executives and staff members with the mindset of a leader in the global era. The new corporate motto and catchphrase each are “Renewing Itself toward the Future,” and “Kunhwa Realizing Dreams and Hope.”
Since October 2008, when it was registered as a firm specializing in new and renewable energy sources, Kunhwa jointly built a 2 billion won photovoltaic power facility at an outdoor parking lot of the Ariji Country Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, the first such installation on a golf course in Korea, The 8,700 square meter facility, capable of generating 200KW of electricity daily or 274MW yearly, is a green growth project for the golf country club to have its electricity costs curtailed by nearly 30 percent.

Kunhwa Chairman
Hwang Kwang-ung Honored with Road MVP Award

He is credited with contributing to the development of the Korean road and traffic industries during his 50-year career

Question: How do you feel after you were presented with the Road MVP Award?
Answer: Since I received the award on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the opening the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) Expressway, I think of it as a prize for all people in the road- and traffic-related fields.
Looking back, I understand that a lot of sweat and efforts made in the fields are the driving force behind the nation’s marvelous development. I want to play a part in making contributions to society by continuing to work hard.
Q: Will you explain your management tenet and your company’s new catchphrase?
A: My management tenet is a Chinese proverb that reads “song mu baek yeol,” literally meaning, “that a pine nut tree is delighted with a neighboring pine tree flourishes, it is telling people that a true human relationship is born when one can be genuinely happy when one can b e genuinely happy for another’s success and prosperity.
The newly unveiled corporate slogan is “Renewing Itself toward the Future,” meaning that all together are making their way for a better future with the development of technology, innovation and creating new values with an undaunted challenging spirit. nw

Kunhwa Consulting & Engineering Chairman Hwang Kwang-ung poses with his executives after being presented with the Road MVP Award during the Construction VE Conference 2010.

Kunhwa Consulting & Engineering Chairman Hwang Kwang-ung