'정의선 시대' 열렸다…현대차그룹 20년만에 총수 교체
South Korea's second biggest conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group has promoted longtime heir apparent Chung Eui-sun to be its new chairman.
This is the auto giant's first generational handover in 20 years.
Eum Ji-young has more.
Hyundai Motor Group's heir apparent Chung Eui-sun has been promoted to head of the group.
Hyundai Motor Group held a temporary board meeting on Wednesday morning and approved Chung as the new chairman.
This officially cemented his succession to the leadership of South Korea's second biggest conglomerate and the world's fifth-largest automaker.
Chung replaces his father Chung Mong-koo, who took the wheels of the group in 2000. Chung Mong-koo is now in his 80s and has been hospitalized since July. He has made honorary chairman.
Chung Eui-sun's promotion comes just over two years after he was named as executive vice chairman in September 2018... and he has been playing an increasingly visible leadership role within Hyundai Motor Group.
He was also appointed as the chairman of the group's board of directors in March this year, while his father stepped back from frontline operations and gave up his board seat in Hyundai Motor earlier this year.
The appointment of the new chairman is seen as an effort to stabilize the group's leadership, swiftly respond to the rapidly changing global automobile industry and navigate the volatile business environment amid COVID-19.
The new chairman has been leading the group's push to raise its status in the global electric vehicle and hydrogen car market.
Chung has been meeting with executives of local conglomerates like Samsung and LG in the past couple of months to form an alliance over batteries for electric cars.
In July, Chung said, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors aim to sell around one million electric cars globally in 2025 which is roughly 10 percent share of the global market.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News
