Hansae YES24 Becomes AI Developer's Second-Largest Shareholder: "6 Trillion Won in Revenue by 2032 Without M&A"

Vice Chairman Kim Seokhwan: "AI is the group's key growth driver"
Investment in foundation-model developer; AI transformation across affiliates
Hansae to begin full-scale operations at Guatemala production base next year
Hansae MK considers brand restructuring and additional funding

Hansae YES24 Group has invested in a company developing an artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model, becoming its second-largest shareholder. The group plans to secure its own technology and apply AI across its affiliates, from publishing and education to apparel manufacturing and auto parts. It aims to achieve consolidated revenue of 6 trillion won by 2032 through growth in its existing businesses and expansion of production bases, without including additional mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in its revenue target.

Kim Seokhwan, vice chairman of Hansae YES24 Holdings, said at the "2026 Global Investor Relations (IR) Briefing" in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on October 28, "This year, we invested in a company developing its own foundation model and became its second-largest shareholder." He added that the company is preparing to release its own model. The group did not disclose the name of the investee or the amount invested. "AI is a key pillar that will drive the group's growth," he said. "Achieving 6 trillion won in revenue by 2032 is entirely possible even without considering additional M&A."

Kim Seokhwan, vice chairman of Hansae Yes24 Holdings, delivers opening remarks at the 2026 Global Investor Relations (IR) briefing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on the 28th. Provided by Hansae Yes24 Holdings.

AI will be introduced gradually across the affiliates' businesses. YES24 has launched an AI-powered personalized book recommendation service for logged-in customers and plans to introduce at least one AI education platform in partnership with Dong-A Publishing. Hansae is working on ways to apply AI to factory production data analysis and sales forecasting. "We are developing technologies that can be used not only in text-based AI but also in multimodal AI and physical AI," Vice Chairman Kim said.

The group estimates that it will need to grow by about 8% annually to reach 6 trillion won in revenue. Its strategy is to expand its core businesses while improving profitability. In the first half of this year, the group's consolidated revenue rose 6.9% year over year to 1.7719 trillion won, while operating profit increased by 40.3 billion won to 61.6 billion won. Growth in Hansae's high-value-added products and the impact of new releases at Dong-A Publishing supported the results.

Apparel manufacturer Hansae reported revenue of 1.0288 trillion won and operating profit of 46.5 billion won in the first half. Revenue increased 9.2% year over year. A new growth platform is its vertically integrated production base in Guatemala. Kim Ikhwan, vice chairman of Hansae, said, "The dyeing plant is about 96% complete, and the yarn plant is in the low 90% range." He added, "Even if operations begin in the fourth quarter of this year, production will not meaningfully expand until next year."

In Guatemala, the company plans to establish a system for local production from yarn and fabric through to finished products, expanding into high-value-added products that have been difficult to make in its existing Central American locations. The company said shipping products from its Asian production bases to the eastern United States takes 35 to 40 days, while shipping from Central America takes just 8 to 10 days. "We do not plan to deliberately reduce production volumes in Vietnam," Vice Chairman Kim Ikhwan said. "We will increase revenue by expanding production hubs in Central America, Indonesia and elsewhere."

Kim Ik-hwan, vice chairman of Hansae, speaks at the 2026 Global Investor Relations (IR) Briefing held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on the 28th. Provided by Hansae YES24 Holdings.

The publishing and education businesses have also developed specific growth strategies. YES24 has a membership base of about 24 million and is targeting revenue of 620 billion won this year. The Paju Smart Logistics Center is currently in a pilot operation phase, handling about 35% of total volume, and has the capacity to process 30 million orders annually. The company plans to expand the relocation of operations to the center from the end of this year through early next year. With the ability to process about 8,000 outbound orders per hour, it aims to reduce labor costs and delivery times. Dong-A Publishing projects education content revenue of 120 billion won this year, supported by a 95.4% adoption rate for its middle school textbooks and sales of study guides such as "Ppajjak" and "High Top."

Auto parts affiliate Hansae Mobility recorded first-half revenue of 254.4 billion won, up 13.4% year over year, and returned to profitability. It plans to expand local production at its Turan plant through its Uzbekistan subsidiary, established this year, and supply auto parts for 310,000 vehicles annually. At its U.S. plant, the company added a precision parts machining line alongside its existing finished-product assembly equipment. Hansae Mobility CEO Seong Nakgon said the company is also considering new businesses related to robotics parts and physical AI, but did not provide a specific timeline for mass production. "In addition to the United States and Uzbekistan, Europe is also asking us to localize production," he said. "We plan to enter Europe once orders from the customers we are currently in discussions with are finalized."

Turning around underperforming affiliate Hansae MK remains a challenge. "We are expanding profitable businesses and winding down underperforming brands," Vice Chairman Kim Seokhwan said. "We are considering all options, including additional support from the holding company." Any financial support will be decided after assessing the likelihood of recovery and the holding company's financial stability, though the group has not ruled out increasing borrowing. From 2026 to 2028, the group plans to return at least 40% of dividend income from its affiliates to shareholders and pay a minimum dividend of 500 won per share.

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