Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon on Tuesday received the 38th CEO Grand Prix, one of the top honors given to business leaders in Korea, the textile-to-energy giant said Wednesday.

The annual award, presented by the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, has honored entrepreneurs who contribute to the nation’s economic growth with spirited entrepreneurship and excellent management skills since 1987.

The Hyosung chairman, since his inauguration in 2017, was credited for revamping the group’s business portfolio based on carbon neutrality. Under his leadership, its key affiliates have secured competitiveness in the burgeoning carbon climate business and have shared it within the whole supply chain.

"Hyosung Founder Cho Hong-je and my father, Honorary Chairman Cho Seok-rae have instilled three important management principles in me from an early age," Cho said in his acceptance speech of the award, citing the three principles -- securing trust with customers, striving to become the world’s No. 1 and developing the group’s authentic technologies.

"In the era of singularity, where the boundaries between humans and artificial intelligence are broken, companies that understand customers in multiple dimensions and provide what they want one step faster can survive," he added.

Cho has declared “customer first” as the key management principle this year, stressing customer-based management throughout all business activities.

He has also renewed his commitment to better responding to environmental, social and governance calls. Since adopting a holding structure scheme in 2018, the group has made efforts to enhance governance structure, while seeking shared growth with suppliers by creating a more sustainable and innovative industrial ecosystem.