In his opening speech, Chairman of the Board Jeong-Soon Jo outlined a new course to all of the Tongil Group executives.

“There were a lot of difficulties in the first half of this year, including the problems in Gyeonggi-do and the Sewol Ferry tragedy. However, I feel that our executives did a good job despite everything. What is the management philosophy of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon? From the beginning, they told us to ‘go forth with the heart of a parent and the body of a slave. Shed sweat for earth, tears for humankind and blood for heaven.’ You could say that Rev. Moon and Dr. Han were people who led, and continue to lead, with parental hearts. How, then, can we come to resemble our parents?

‘Sincerity moves heaven.’ Nowadays, you will often hear people say that their company philosophy is ‘Match Management’ or ‘Invest until the customer gives the OK.’ I say that our company philosophy is ‘sincerity moves heaven.’ We must invest until we can move the heart of heaven. How much do we need to work in order to accomplish this? There is no end in sight. We must simply work until we accomplish that goal. I feel that, if you inspire yourself by the work that you are doing, heaven cannot help but also feel inspired by you.

The opening address was followed by reports by each subsidiary company. Tongil Foundation Planning and Inspection Team Manager Don-Yong Choi gave the “First Half of 2014 Tongil Group Performance Report.” Reports on their respective companies were then given by Ilhwa CEO Sung-Gyun Lee, Segye Ilbo CEO Han-Gyu Jo, Yong Pyong Resort/Ilsang Ocean Development Co. CEO Chang-Joo Jeong, Sunwon Construction CEO Cheol-Eon Park, Ilshin Stone CEO Hyun-Yeong Kim and TIC/Shinjeong Development CEO Bong-Che Jeong.

Finally, Foundation Director Yong-Tae Kim made some remarks. “Even though the past six months have been difficult, especially with the decline in consumerism, I want to thank all of the executives for their hard work despite everything. I want to especially express my gratitude to the CEOs and executives who were able to bring in more business profits than last year,” he said. He then pointed out all of the changes made to each company since the previous year, and gave ample advice and encouragement regarding company growth through the development and improvement of production technology and labor.