HD Hyundai CEO to co-chair WEF Special Meeting

HD Hyundai Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Ki-sun will serve as a co-chair of the Special Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from Sunday to Monday.

This session convenes 900 leaders from a broad array of sectors, including public and private enterprises, international organizations, NGOs, academia and civil society.

The agenda is centered on addressing critical global challenges that are vital to sustainable growth: revitalizing global cooperation, fostering inclusive growth and catalyzing action on disparities in energy access.

The World Economic Forum is renowned for gathering thought leaders from diverse fields encompassing business, economics, politics and journalism, providing a platform to tackle contemporary global challenges and devise actionable solutions.

The forum organizes two main annual meetings: one in the winter in Davos, Switzerland, and the other in the summer, alternating between Dalian and Tianjin, China. This Riyadh meeting, one of the largest to be held outside of the regular forums, came about through a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the Saudi government.

An esteemed panel of 16 global leaders -- including Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF; Darren Woods, chair and CEO of ExxonMobil; Marcus Wallenberg, chair of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB; Robert Maersk Uggla, chair of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S; Anna Marks, global chair of Deloitte; and Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco -- will serve as co-chairs alongside Chung. Notably, Chung is the sole Korean representative among them.

In his role at this forum, Chung will evaluate strategies for achieving sustainable development amidst the swift pace of the energy transition and will seek collaborative avenues with other global leaders.

“This meeting is organized to address the universal growth of the global economy and the disparities in energy access,” Chung remarked. “HD Hyundai's vision also encompasses sustainable growth for humanity, and we will strive to enhance global cooperation to build a better future.”

The special meeting is also expected to strengthen HD Hyundai's cooperation related to green businesses. Chung plans to discuss with Uggla of Moller-Maersk and Nasser of Saudi Aramco enhancing cooperation on sustainable ships and hydrogen projects, which are currently being pursued jointly.