- Strengthens industrial competitiveness through the Digital & AI Transformation (DAX) strategy
- Advances workplace transformation through frontline-led AI innovation
GS Caltex (Vice Chairman & CEO Saehong Hur) was recognized with the highest distinction in the AI Innovation category at the 2025 Management Grand Awards, presented by the Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC).
Established in 1988 and now in its 38th year, the Management Grand Awards recognize companies that demonstrate managerial excellence and deliver innovation across various business sectors. This year saw the introduction of an AI Innovation category in response to its growing importance in management.
GS Caltex received the inaugural award for its achievements in embedding digital and AI capabilities throughout the organization under its Digital & AI Transformation (DAX) strategy and for strengthening industrial competitiveness through field-driven innovation. This marks the company’s second consecutive year of recognition, after earning the top honor in the Digital Transformation category last year.
Vice Chairman Hur stated, “The sustainability of a company’s competitiveness hinges on how effectively it leverages AI and data” and added, “This award reflects our efforts to foster a self-directed culture of AI use centered on onsite teams, enabled by the Digital & AI Transformation strategy. We will continue to shape the future of GS Caltex by advancing our Way of Working (WoW) to be smarter and more human through AI.”
Rooted in the idea of digital and AI as mutually reinforcing capabilities, Digital & AI Transformation (DAX) is GS Caltex’s strategy for moving the company to the next level as an AI-driven, intelligent organization. By integrating AI into the digital systems and accumulated data assets, GS Caltex is accelerating decision-making and enabling employees to use AI as a ‘virtual colleague’ that supports tasks such as data collection, analysis, and reporting. This, in turn, allows them to focus more on creative problem-solving and strategic decisions.
In traditional manufacturing sectors, adopting AI involves far more than simply applying new technology—it fundamentally transforms the industry’s operating philosophy and competitive foundations. In the refining and petrochemical sectors, AI can analyze vast volumes of process data in real time, recommend optimal operating conditions, and detect risks early. As a result, decision-making shifts from experience-driven judgment to a data-driven, intelligent operating system.
At GS Caltex’s Yeosu Complex, AI-enabled innovation is driving progress in process optimization, integrated equipment management, energy efficiency, and safety. AI-based analytics and optimization models improve both process efficiency and economic performance. Notably, AI-enabled CCTV, drones, and robots are used to enhance safety in high-risk environments and to detect early signs of process abnormalities.
The company’s self-directed, field-driven culture of AI use is reinforced by strong leadership support. Vice Chairman Hur, who personally coined the term ‘DAX,’ strengthens the company’s efforts by urging the organization to actively integrate AI capabilities into its technical expertise. Executives advance organizational adoption by participating in AI training themselves and introduce innovations to governance systems for faster decision-making. GS Caltex further develops in-house talent through its Digital Academy, nurturing employees to become data analysts and citizen developers. It also carries out initiatives such as AiU, the company-wide generative AI platform, and DAX Day, the recurring knowledge-sharing event, to spread an employee-led AI innovation culture across the organization.
DAX is rapidly expanding across all business divisions, generating a growing number of field-centered best-practice cases. In addition, GS Caltex has been selected as the lead organization for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s “AI Factory Flagship Project,” through which the company is pursuing its vision of a smart complex (AI Factory) built on digital twin technology.
