Kim Keun-soo is the founder and chairman of the Foosung Group and also serves as the chairman of Firstec.
He was born on September 15, 1948, as the second son of Kim Young-joo, former honorary chairman of Korea Flange Industrial (now Korea Movex), and Chung Hee-young, the younger sister of Chung Ju-yung, former honorary chairman of the Hyundai Group.
Kim graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Kyung Hee University and later completed his MBA at California State University in the United States.
He began his career at Hyundai Construction.
In 1980, he acquired Korea Refractories and, in 1983, purchased Ulsan Chemical, marking his independent path after separating from Hyundai Group.
He expanded his business into sectors with high entry barriers, such as refrigerants and specialty gases for semiconductors. In anticipation of the electric vehicle market's growth, he also entered the electrolyte business for secondary batteries, achieving diversification.
The group name "Foosung" was derived from his personal pen name.
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