Six months in, Korea Hydro CEO logs twice Earth's circumference in field visits

Kim Hoe-cheon, president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the country's largest power generation company, marked six months in office Friday. In that time, Kim has traveled roughly 82,000 kilometers — more than twice Earth's circumference — visiting domestic facilities and overseas markets as he pushes nuclear power exports under the Team Korea initiative, including a new plant project in the Czech Republic.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said Kim has conducted 14 on-site safety inspections since taking office on March 18, visiting company facilities more than twice a month on average to personally assess safety management conditions.

He also made five overseas trips totaling 81,736 kilometers, including two visits to the Czech Republic nuclear plant site and trips to export markets in the United States and Canada.

When he took office, Kim set out a management philosophy centered on bottom-up innovation and hands-on leadership, adopting the slogan "Connect 365, With CEO." The approach aims to harness flexible communication and field-driven innovation as core management principles, rallying organizational capabilities through direct engagement with employees.

In line with that philosophy, the company recently established an employee-led innovation group called the Junior Board for Organizational Culture Innovation, designed to bring the fresh perspectives of younger staff and frontline voices directly into company-wide management decisions.

On the day of his inauguration ceremony in March, Kim visited the Gori Nuclear Power Plant headquarters to inspect Unit 1, which is undergoing decommissioning following its permanent shutdown, and Unit 2, then under maintenance for continued operation, encouraging staff on site. He has since made regular visits to facilities across the country to personally check safety management conditions and take proactive steps to eliminate accident risks.

To foster a culture of open communication within the organization, Kim has held meals and informal gatherings with employees across different ranks and departments, sharing messages about professional growth. He regularly meets staff in the company cafeteria in a relaxed, informal setting. In July, he met with new recruits to share the company's long-term vision.

Kim is also using this strengthened internal communication to address broader industry challenges. As the company works in line with government energy policy to select sites for new large-scale nuclear plants and small modular reactors in Yeongdeok-gun and Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province and Gijang-gun in Busan, engagement with local communities has become more critical than ever.

"Going directly to the field, making eye contact with employees and communicating with them is the starting point for organizational change and growth," Kim said. "I will continue to actively pursue two-way communication that listens to the voices of our people."