Hanjin headquarters
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Native name
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한진 그룹 |
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Public | |
Industry | Conglomerate |
Founded | 1945 |
Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
Key people
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Cho yang-ho (CEO and Chairman) |
Subsidiaries | Korean Air (KRX: ) Hanjin Shipping (KRX: ) |
Website | www |
The Hanjin Group (Hangul: 한진 그룹; Hanja: 韓進 그룹; RR: Hanjin Geurup) is a South Korean conglomerate, or chaebol. The group is a holding company that includes a shipping company, Hanjin Shipping (including Hanjin Logistics), and Korean Air (KAL), which was acquired in 1969.
Hanjin started at the end of World War II, in November 1945. Early on, its biggest customer was the U.S. Army, providing the transportation of material to both Korea and Vietnam. The company signed a major contract with the US 8th Army in November 1956, and another contract in March 1966, with all of the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In November 1969, Hanjin made its entry into the containerized shipping business signing a deal with Sea-Land Service, Inc. In September 1970, the company opened its first container yard at the port of Busan.
The late 1970s saw a major push into the Middle East with contracts signed to Kuwait at the port of Shuwaik (September 1977), Saudi Arabia at the port of Dammam (March 1979), and at the port of Jeddah (May 1980).
In March 1990, Hanjin branched out into trucking and warehousing with the purchase of Korea Freight Transport Company. In June 1992, Hanjin Express was introduced to deliver small packages and provide courier service. The company started to load and unload cargo at the ports of Long Beach and Seattle with the joint venture Total Terminals International LLC., in August 1992. In January 1993, they initiated container rail service between Pusan and Uiwang. In May 1995, Hanjin hauled grain to North Korea. The Hanjin-Senator once was the seventh largest container transportation and shipping company in the world (operations ceased February 2009).