Hanaro chief executive officer Kwon Soon-yub got aboard Hanaro Telecom in 2003 and became executive vice president of the carrier the next year. After former president Yoon Changbun resigned in this August, Kwon became an acting CEO before taking the reins last month via the shareholders' meeting. The lawyer-turned businessman is considered to be taking over the reins at Hanaro at an opportune time when the overall wireline industry is suffering from setbacks due to the saturated market. Both broadband and landline call markets have shown a clear sign of saturation over the past several years with its growth rate is at the snail's pace as people shift to mobile. In addition, the crowded markets provide wafer-thin margins triggered by stiff marketing competition. However, the 47-year-old Kwon has tried to lift the carrier out of the industrywide straights by making inroads into the uncontested markets, so-called Blue Ocean. The example is Hanaro's three future growth phases; IP TV, home networking and wireless LAN as well as the firm's advance into the in-flight Internet services. Such efforts are unlikely to give proceeds tomorrow, but would lay groundwork for the long-term growth of Hanaro Telecom, which has a unique corporate culture of continuing challenges.