DSME to Start Afresh as Hanwha Ocean After Completion of Takeover Deal

DSME or Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd has been sold, and it is now owned by the Hanhwa Group. The acquisition deal has been completed this month, and now the shipbuilding company was rebranded with a completely new name.

DSME is now called Hanwha Ocean, and as it restarts its operation under new management, Kwon Hyuk Woong was appointed as its chief executive officer. He is said to be a close aide of the Hanhwa Group's chief, and prior to his appointment, he was serving as the vice chairman and president of Hanhwa's support division.

The changes were announced during the shareholders' meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 23. The meeting was held at Daewoo Marine Ocean Plaza in Geoje, located in South Gyeongsang Province, and it was set a month after the South Korean antitrust regulators granted conditional approval for Hanhwa's purchase of DSME.

Although this is a fresh start for the shipbuilding firm, The Korea Herald reported that this is actually the second time that DSME is being rebranded. Throughout its 45-year history, the ownership of the fourth-largest shipbuilder in the world changed twice already.

The first time it was rebranded was in 1978 when DSME was acquired by the Daewoo Group, which is no longer operating. Thus, the rebranding to Hanhwa Ocean this year is the company's second shift.

"We will build Hanwha Ocean into a sustainable, eco-friendly technology company, a global innovation leader with the world's best competitiveness that can generate stable profits under any circumstances," Yonhap News Agency quoted Hanhwa Ocean's new CEO, Kwon Hyuk Woong, as saying in a note to his employees. "I will do my best to ensure that my years of experience in various industries of Hanwha Group will help Hanwha Ocean take a new leap forward," Kwon said.