GS Group chief calls for new businesses in green sector

GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo announces at a meeting with the executives on Aug. 30. [Courtesy of GS Group]

GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo on Wednesday underscored the need to engage in new businesses in the environmentally-friendly sector based on what it has achieved from investments in startups.

“Startup technology is a game changer of future industry,” Huh said, during a meeting with executives at GS Caltex Learning & Development Center in Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. “Now, it is time for us to link the venture network technology we have nurtured and realize it to new businesses that lead the future market.”

The closed-door meeting was attended by Huh and 60 other executives including Hong Soon-ky, chief executive of GS Holdings Co., Hur Sae-hong, chief executive of GS Caltex Corp., and Huh Yong-soo, chief executive of GS Energy Corp. They shared investment progress and discussed future growth business strategies.

The participants also discussed strategies to integrate the technologies of each invested company and nurture them into tangible ventures to deliver new deals through 3 years of GS‘s investment in startups.

The meeting focused on how the company’s venture investments have transformed into new businesses, such as charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) and a green recycling project of waste batteries and plastics.

GS launched an EV charging business in 2021, with GS Energy’s entry into the sector. The company then acquired additional shares to establish GS Connect, a leading company with 40,000 EV chargers nationwide.

GS Group has been preparing for further expansion of the EV charging market by making wide-ranging investments in startups with cutting-edge technologies.

The startups include Relectrify Pty Ltd, an Australian venture of battery control solutions that increase the battery lifetime, and AutoGrid, a management software for the electric power grid.

Under the leadership of Chairman Huh, GS Group has been active in its venture investments. Since 2020, when the company turned to startups as its new business strategy, startups have become an integral component of any conversation about GS Group’s emerging endeavors.

GS Group has channeled over 150 billion won ($113 million) into 33 startups and 7 venture funds.