Kichul Kim

Kichul Kim
President, Hanwha Techwin AmericaBefore taking on the role of President of Hanwha Techwin America in 2017, Kim had played instrumental roles in sales and corporate management at Hanwha Corporation since 1995. He most recently served as Director of Corporate Business Planning at Hanwha Techwin’s Security Division in South Korea.
Articles by Kichul Kim
While the security industry continues to grow, increased commoditisation and the rise of low-cost cameras that are vulnerable to cyber-attacks has forced our industry to take a harder look at cybersecurity. Systems integrators and customers are increasingly aware of the dangers posed by these devices, and demand more accountability from manufacturers. This is good news for innovative manufacturers like Hanwha who have always put cybersecurity at the core of their product development. Because we develop most of the components of our products ourselves, from the camera optics to our own chipsets, we are not as reliant on off-the-shelf, potentially vulnerable parts and technology, compared to competing vendors. 2018 security market We expect 2018 will see more consolidation, acquisitions and partnerships between organisations. The ‘winners’ will be companies that are best positioned to address security concerns, while funding innovation. They will be companies that continue to deliver technology, solutions, features and programmes that drive market growth, and generate trust and loyalty among resellers, dealers and customers. The ‘losers’ will be those who build their business model on low profit margins and favor volume at the detriment of security best practices and quality. From a technology perspective, advances in deep learning and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for image analysis will drive the development of more intelligent devices and advanced analytics on the edge. Record growth 2017 was another year of record growth for Hanwha Techwin America. We attribute much of our success to our ability to bring truly innovative solutions to market quickly. We have grown our staff significantly in the US over the last year and are actively seeking to hire more qualified sales, engineering and marketing staff in 2018. We are continuing to lead the industry by focusing on our core technologies including optical design, software development and System on a Chip (SoC), while keeping an eye toward future technologies such as advanced in-camera analytics and deep learning.
News mentions
As an industry, we often speak in buzzwords. In addition to being catchy and easy to remember, these new and trendy industry terms can also reflect the state of the security market’s technology. In short, the latest buzzwords provide a kind of shorthand description of where the industry is - and where it’s going. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What new buzzword(s) rose to prominence in the security industry in 2020? (And how do they reflect industry trends?)
As a subset of the larger economy, the security industry is bound to feel the effects of an economic downturn. Such was the case in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic undermined economic growth and presented a brand new set of challenges to business. The security industry has been able to pivot toward emerging opportunities, but that success has been offset by broader economic challenges. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What impact, positive or negative, has the larger economy had on the security marketplace in 2020?
At ISC West 2018, in booth #14079, Hanwha Techwin America, supplier of IP and analogue video surveillance solutions, will unveil five new IP-based Wisenet thermal cameras. The new cameras require no ambient light and provide excellent image quality in darkness or challenging environments such as smoke or fog. Capable of long-range detection, the cameras feature selectable 13/19/35mm lenses and are available in both bullet and PT mounts. Thermal cameras The high-contrast images rendered by thermal cameras make motion detection and other video analytics highly accurate. With a VGA resolution of 640 x 480 at 30fps, motion is smooth, and images are clear.The high-contrast images rendered by thermal cameras make motion detection and other video analytics highly accurate The new thermal cameras use the power of the Wisenet 5 chip to provide advanced analytics including tampering and shock detection, loitering, directional detection, plus audio detection and classification for gunshots, glass breaks, and screams. Motion detection with handover enables thermal cameras to inform standard PTZ (Pan Tilt and Zoom) cameras where to target their lenses to gather additional information on an event. “A unique aspect of the new thermal cameras is their ability to detect temperature changes in the frame,” explains Mr. Kichul Kim, President, Hanwha Techwin America. “Combining thermal sensors with our industry leading Wisenet 5 chipset features brings a new level of performance and analytics to the market. Seeing in the dark is not enough. Our customers want industry leading intelligence features as well.” Digital image stabilisation All cameras include digital image stabilisation with gyro sensors and include H.264/265 based WiseStream II compression technology. On-board storage of up to 256GB is available through a SD/SDHC/SDXC memory slot.
Hanwha Techwin America, a global supplier of IP and analogue video surveillance solutions, announced Wisenet WAVE, a new VMS (Video Management System) designed to support the advanced features, and on-board video analytics that are unique to Hanwha cameras. Available immediately from Hanwha’s network of authorised distributors, Wisenet WAVE is ideally suited to meet the needs of customers looking for a reasonably priced and easy to use end-to-end video surveillance solution. A highly customisable IP video management platform, WAVE gives users the ability to create tailored network video solutions for any type of project, on any device. With an intuitive interface requiring little to no training, WAVE empowers new and existing Hanwha IP camera users to make the most of their cameras’ advanced features and on-board analytics such as intelligent video analytics (appear, disappear, loitering), market intelligence statistics (queue management) and sound classification (explosion, glass breakage, gun shot and scream detection). WAVE is ONVIF compliant which allows it to support many other ONVIF compliant devices. Multi-server redundant fail-over is built into the software and ready to be activated with only a few clicks VMS solution for retail and education “We developed WAVE to provide a VMS solution for customers across a wide variety of applications such as retail and education. These customers are looking for VMS solutions that are simple, reliable, lightweight and scalable. With Wisenet WAVE VMS, we can accelerate integration with our devices to fully utilise the power of the onboard analytic features embedded in our Wisenet X series cameras. Ideally suited for video integration, WAVE makes it easier and more efficient for operators to receive real-time incident notifications without relying on constant human intervention/monitoring." "For large scale and more sophisticated projects including access control, perimeter fence detection, intercoms, POS or other business processes, we will continue to work closely with our VMS technology partners,” explains Mr. Kichul Kim, President, Hanwha Techwin America. Wisenet WAVE is exceptionally lightweight and requires very little computing power; it can be installed within minutes and does not require a system with high specifications. To ensure that every moment is captured and recorded with minimum downtime, WAVE is highly reliable. Multi-server redundant fail-over is built into the software and ready to be activated with only a few clicks, and without requiring any extra fail-over licenses. To simplify system access and management, Hanwha has developed WAVE Sync, a cloud-based service that enables remote access and insight WAVE Sync cloud-based service An intuitive ‘drag & drop’ interface makes it effortless for operators to set up a display of live and recorded images on a single screen or video wall, with customisable layouts and sizes. With WAVE’s zoom window, operators can quickly view close up detail of any activity, and the system’s motion detection and video analytics support can be configured to automatically generate alerts when incidents occur. The Wisenet WAVE mobile app enables users to view, search, and control IP cameras to quickly respond to any incidents from a smart device, using Wi-Fi or data networks. To simplify system access and management, Hanwha has developed WAVE Sync, a cloud-based service that enables remote access and insight into one or any number of Wisenet WAVE Systems. Hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), it allows users to share their system without having in-depth knowledge of the network router and switch configurations. Once the Wisenet WAVE system is linked with WAVE Sync, users can remotely share the system. Wisenet WAVE supports all major operating systems including Microsoft Windows and Linux Ubuntu for server application; Microsoft Windows, Linux Ubuntu, and Apple macOS for the client application; and Apple iOS and Google Android for the mobile application and web clients. In addition, Hanwha includes an SDK/API package directly within the Server application enabling developers to easily integrate their solutions with Wisenet WAVE.
Hanwha Techwin’s high performance chipset, Wisenet 5, won the Grand Prize at the High-tech Safety Industry Product and Technology Awards 2017 held on November 28th in South Korea. The awards recognise outstanding products and technologies that contribute to building a safer society through continuous development of cutting-edge technology. The awards were sponsored by 15 government agencies and organisations including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), and Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Most bandwidth-friendly camera range Wisenet 5 SoC is capable of significantly faster image processing and features many upgrades. It was first introduced with the Wisenet X series, which launched across the globe in January 2017. Wisenet X series offers image stabilisation using DIS + gyro sensor, 150 dB WDR, enhanced on-board analytics and extreme low-light performance. Using WiseStreamⅡ, Hanwha Techwin’s unique compression technology, the Wisenet X series provides the most bandwidth-friendly camera range. "As a leader in the security industry in domestically and globally, we strive to contribute to the safety of the people and the security of the nation” said Mr. Kim, President, Hanwha Techwin America. “We are grateful for this recognition and we will continue to reinforce our core technology development for optical and SoC and invest in advanced technology. Moreover, we will strengthen our technological cooperation with other competitive companies in the industry regardless of its size for mutual benefits and healthy industrial growth.”
Hanwha Techwin America (HTA), a global supplier of IP and analogue video surveillance solutions, announced the appointment of company veteran Mr. Kichul (K.C.) Kim as the new president for the Americas. He replaces Mr. Soon Hong Ahn, who was promoted to Head of Global Sales and Strategic Marketing at the company’s headquarters in South Korea. Both appointments are effective immediately. Mr. Kim played an instrumental role in sales and corporate management since joining Hanwha Corporation in 1995. He served as Director of Corporate Business Planning at Hanwha Techwin’s Security Division in South Korea since 2015 and began working in the U.S. in January of this year to ensure a smooth transition of the president’s role. Driving product innovation “I am excited to continue the success created by Mr. Ahn,” said Mr. Kim. “Our speed to market and commitment to developing leading edge technology has allowed us to experience rapid growth and tremendous progress over the past several years. My mission is to support HTA’s business through continued investments, partnerships, technology development and expansion throughout the Americas.” Mr. Kim will promote the Hanwha brand, execute HTA’s growth plan and drive its product innovation in order to position Hanwha as the leading solutions provider in the video surveillance industry. He will be based in Hanwha Techwin America’s headquarters in Teaneck, NJ.