Kwon Young-soo, the newly appointed CEO of LG Energy Solution, called for an unrelenting focus on battery technology, urging executives and staff to shake off recall fears in his inaugural speech delivered on Monday.

“You must have had a lot of worries due to the recent quality issues, but there is no need to be discouraged. As the saying goes, it’s darkest before the dawn, and this is an inevitable process in the long term,” Kwon said in his first message as chief of LG Energy Solution.

He stressed that the company has the strengths to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

“We have more than 25,000 (battery) patents, the greatest number among global battery firms.”

Last week, LG Energy Solution’s board of directors tapped Kwon as the new chief of the company to replace Kim Jong-hyun, who resigned after patching up recent recalls involving General Motors’ Bolt electric vehicles. Kwon, who is also the vice chairman of LG Group’s holding firm LG Corp., took office as the new CEO on Monday.

This is Kwon’s return to LG Energy Solution. From 2012 to 2015, the 64-year-old leader led LG Energy when it was then a battery division of LG Chem. Under his leadership, LG Energy Solution’s number of automaker clients doubled to 20.