"Ssangyong C&E to Leave Seoul Headquarters With 120 Staff and Move to Donghae City... First Major Gamble in 60 Years"

Major Headquarters Relocation Planned for This Year

Aiming for Greater Production Efficiency and Cost Reduction

Domestic Cement Shipments Expected to Hit Record Low This Year

Ssangyong C&E, the largest cement company in Korea, is relocating its main management base from Seoul to Donghae City in Gangwon Province and embarking on organizational restructuring. Amid the downturn in the construction sector and the weakened cement market, the company aims to improve management efficiency by reorganizing its headquarters around its production site.

View of Ssangyong C&E factory in Donghae City, Gangwon Province. Ssangyong C&E

According to industry sources on the 19th, Ssangyong C&E recently decided in an internal meeting to move its Seoul headquarters to Donghae City, where its main production plant is located, and has begun preparations for the transfer. Currently, the Donghae plant houses production staff as well as some personnel from production support functions.

Ssangyong C&E plans to distinguish between departments moving to Donghae and those remaining in Seoul, taking into account the nature of each department's work. While the exact timing and scale of the transfer are still under discussion, it is highly likely that most employees will move to Donghae, excluding some teams for whom Seoul-based work, such as sales, is essential. Ssangyong C&E has formed a task force to accelerate preparations, aiming for a transfer to be completed within this year.

The decision to relocate the headquarters for the first time in nearly 60 years since the Donghae plant began operations comes amid a prolonged downturn in the cement industry. By moving management closer to the production base, the company expects to enhance both decision-making and production operations efficiency while also achieving cost savings in headquarters operations in Seoul. Currently, about 120 employees work at Ssangyong C&E’s headquarters in the City Center Tower in Jung District, Seoul. With many of these employees expected to move to Donghae, the company anticipates a reduction in fixed costs related to office space in Seoul.

With the sluggish construction sector leading to reduced cement demand, the industry is focusing on defending profitability by cutting costs and improving production efficiency. Hanil Cement ceased operations at its Busan plant at the end of last year and has started the official sale process. Sampyo Cement has also lowered its plant utilization rate and adjusted production volume in response to declining shipments. According to the Korea Cement Association, domestic cement shipments were about 38.1 million tons last year, dropping below 40 million tons for the first time in 34 years since 1991. Some forecasts suggest this year’s figure could decrease further to around 36 million tons.

A Ssangyong C&E official stated, “We have experimented with various ways of deploying headquarters staff at production sites to determine the most efficient arrangement,” and added, “While there will likely be no major changes to the overall management system, some organizational adjustments may occur in line with staff rotation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.