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New Year’s Speech 2024
Date : 2024-01-03

 

Dear honorable KR colleagues,
As we usher in a year filled with hope and prospects for advancement, I extend my warmest wishes for your success in realizing your aspirations.

My fellow KR colleagues!

The past year presented a number of challenges, including widespread inflation and unstable international circumstances.
Nevertheless, we worked diligently towards our goal of establishing KR as a preferred class partner for our customers. Our registered fleet has continued to grow, a demonstration of KR's technical competence in the global maritime community.

Furthermore, we've made notable strides in our financial performance. These accomplishments stem from the dedication and excellence each one of you has shown in your respective roles, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you for your hard work.

Dear esteemed KR family members!
This year, our aim is to achieve KR classed fleet of 88 million GT by implementing the following three management policies.

To begin with, our aim is to secure 'Gap Technologies' in the digital and decarbonization sectors.

In the coming year, KR will strive to secure high-level digital transformation based on AI, recognizing its critical role for future competitiveness.

Regarding our current digital services, we will focus on enhancing customer productivity through cutting-edge technical software, including the next-generation 3D Drawing Approval System and our SeaTrust series.

Last year, the IMO strengthened the GHG emission reduction target for international shipping from 50% to 100%, marking the beginning of the "net zero" era. This year, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will also come into force. With international environmental regulations becoming more stringent, the era of carbon-free fuels is just around the corner.

In response, our customers are endeavoring to use zero-carbon fuels and realigning their fleet management strategies to meet these regulations. To stay ahead of the game, we need to quickly secure alternative fuel technologies and enhance the superior capabilities of our Society through the strategic partnerships with the shipowners and shipyards.

Secondly, we need to expand our business areas with a focus on customer-oriented services.

Based on my experience, the key to developing our company to a higher level lies with our customers. That is why I am committed to transforming our Society into “a class of choice”, where customers proactively choose us as their class partner. For this, I urge each one of you to put yourself in the customer's shoes and provide dedicated survey and technical services to ensure that our customers choose KR.

This goal can only be achieved through the collective efforts of our entire organization, not just a single person from the business development team, or departments dedicated to customer service, or headquarters. Therefore, I ask to all of you to work together as one unified team.

Finally, it is imperative that we enhance the quality of our survey services and boost productivity.

The quality of our surveys and certification is a core value of our classification society and has a direct impact on our reputation. Regardless of advances in digital and green technologies and the expansion of our business, our efforts will only shine if we excel in the fundamentals.

This year, I urge you to firmly uphold the principles and fundamentals of risk management by effectively monitoring the safety of our registered ships and strengthening activities to prevent PSC detentions.

At the same time, let’s do our best to significantly improve the productivity of our organization. KR's extensive efforts and investments in the transition to digital classification are aimed not only at improving the customer experience, but also at making our work more productive and efficient.

Compared to other IACS classification societies, our society's projected productivity per person is still considered to be low. Also, our dependence on classification related revenue is approximately 80%, while other classification societies of our size have considerably lower dependence.

To overcome these limitations, it is essential to diversify our income sources and increase our organizational productivity. For this, let us work together to eliminate unnecessary factors that hinder productivity within our organization.

My beloved KR family members!

Our classification society has worked tirelessly over the years, but the reality in front of us remains challenging.
If we fail to unite in such times and make our concerns known to others, the consequences will be overwhelming. With this in mind, I hope that this year we will focus all our efforts on securing competitiveness and increasing productivity for our future survival.

Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to our outstanding employees who have been honored today and wish each and every one of you and your families, the very best for the New Year.


LEE Hyungchul,
KR Chairman & CEO
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