2026 Company Chairman New Year Address

喜迎新年：烟火起岁华新

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dear members of the company family：

The New Year of 2026 has arrived. We sincerely wish you and your family good health, peace and all the best!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our group, which is of special significance.Over the past 30 years, we have overcome countless changes and crises and blazed a path of our own.Throughout this journey, the dedication and sense of responsibility demonstrated by every one of you have been the decisive force behind the company’s achievements today, as well as the most solid foundation for pioneering our future.

Farewell to the old, welcome the new: Peace be with the past, warmth awaits the future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

回首来路，皆为序章

Even though the market landscape underwent tremendous changes last year, we still delivered remarkable outcomes.

In particular, ISU Specialty Chemical has launched the commercial production project of lithium sulfide (Li₂S), a raw material for next-generation all-solid-state batteries.The Group has expanded its production capacity to meet the global demand of the AI industry, achieving the best performance in the company’s history.These achievements demonstrate that our technical strength and well-rounded business portfolio are gaining recognition in the market, with the Group’s market capitalization exceeding 10 trillion Korean won.This achievement has clarified the direction for future development and established an important starting point for the Group.

We cannot afford to stay on our current development track. Artificial intelligence and data technologies are rapidly disrupting industrial structures, while global supply chains and technological competition are becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable.To achieve sustainable growth for the company in this rapidly changing environment, we must resolve to redesign the entire business portfolio and establish new standards.

Future growth will be driven by forward-looking technologies.Process innovation based on artificial intelligence and data, together with the upgrading of materials technology, is no longer merely a tool for enhancing competitiveness, but a core element that determines enterprise value.Technological competitiveness will serve as a direct criterion for measuring how our Group is positioned in the market.

In particular, next-generation battery materials with broad prospects, AI-related data processing acceleration technologies, and bioantibody platform technologies will become the key driving forces for boosting the Group’s core growth.Please engage in cross-company collaboration to commit ourselves to strengthening the technologies that will determine our competitiveness in the future.Only by organically integrating chemistry, materials, IT, and manufacturing technologies can we build a solid technological foundation that is immune to changes in the external environment and achieve leapfrog development for the enterprise.When the experience and achievements of each subsidiary can be naturally shared and utilized within the Group, the Group will truly evolve into a unified ecosystem.

变局谋新，立技融生态，质跃

美好祈愿：所求遂所行坦

HAPPY NEW YEAR

In 2026, we must prioritize rapid execution as the core to advance all work initiatives.In an environment where competition is fiercer than ever before, only swift actions can help us seize the initiative.However, "speed" does not equate to recklessness; instead, it should represent resolute execution based on thorough preparation, thereby enabling us to lead the market.Let us be fully prepared and act with resolve. Do not fear failure; instead, learn from past setbacks and keep forging ahead.As we continue to accumulate incremental achievements that ultimately translate into the shared growth of both individuals and the organization, we will surely evolve into a stronger enterprise.

Dear Colleagues of the Group：

The past 30 years have been a period in which we have continuously proven ourselves to be an enterprise that never ceases to move forward, no matter the circumstances.The next 30 years, however, will be a period when we build on this strength to achieve even greater leaps forward.As long as we can prioritize technology as the core to build our future competitiveness, further consolidate the enterprise’s foundation, and transform into a more execution-driven organization, the Group will surely achieve steady growth amid all kinds of changes.

It is our sincere hope that 2026 will mark a new starting point for the Group.

Happy New Year! Thank you very much!

January 2, 2026

Chairman of the Company Group, Kim Sang-bum