By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) has appointed former industry vice minister as its new president, the group of domestic automakers said Thursday.
According to the association, Jeong Man-ki was appointed as the 17th president, filling a five-month vacancy at the chief post of the association.
Jeong served as the vice minister from August 2016 to June 2017, after aiding former President Park Geun-hye as trade, industry and energy aide in 2014. He spent most of his career as a civil officer for the industry ministry.
"I will do my best to address the difficulties of the automobile industry by playing a bridging role for the industry, the government, the National Assembly and other related entities," Jeong said.
After former KAMA President Kim Yong-geun left the association to serve as the vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation in July, the automobile association failed to fill the vacancy despite its importance as the representative of five domestic carmakers ― Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, SsangYong Motor and Renault Samsung.
During the headless five months, KAMA was criticized for not strongly voicing issues which domestic carmakers were faced with, namely the statutory working hour cap and labor-management conflicts.
After the industry tapped Jeong as the new head of KAMA in November, the association began to raise its voice over pending issues. Last week, KAMA issued a statement claiming a government-led ordinance including the weekend as working hours when calculating the statutory minimum wage will incur up to 700 billion won ($626.23 million) of additional labor costs for its members
Upon his appointment, Jeong told reporters that the automobile industry will likely suffer production downturn due to uncertainties in trade environments and rising production costs.
He also said Korea's chronic low productivity is dragging down the automobile industry, adding cooperative relations between labor and management is required.
"The domestic automobile industry is faced with various difficulties in and outside of the country," a KAMA official said. "And high hope is on Jeong to exploit his experience at the industry ministry."
Jeong earned his Ph.D in economics at Paris Nanterre University.
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| Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association President Jeong Man-ki |
According to the association, Jeong Man-ki was appointed as the 17th president, filling a five-month vacancy at the chief post of the association.
Jeong served as the vice minister from August 2016 to June 2017, after aiding former President Park Geun-hye as trade, industry and energy aide in 2014. He spent most of his career as a civil officer for the industry ministry.
"I will do my best to address the difficulties of the automobile industry by playing a bridging role for the industry, the government, the National Assembly and other related entities," Jeong said.
After former KAMA President Kim Yong-geun left the association to serve as the vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation in July, the automobile association failed to fill the vacancy despite its importance as the representative of five domestic carmakers ― Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, SsangYong Motor and Renault Samsung.
During the headless five months, KAMA was criticized for not strongly voicing issues which domestic carmakers were faced with, namely the statutory working hour cap and labor-management conflicts.
After the industry tapped Jeong as the new head of KAMA in November, the association began to raise its voice over pending issues. Last week, KAMA issued a statement claiming a government-led ordinance including the weekend as working hours when calculating the statutory minimum wage will incur up to 700 billion won ($626.23 million) of additional labor costs for its members
Upon his appointment, Jeong told reporters that the automobile industry will likely suffer production downturn due to uncertainties in trade environments and rising production costs.
He also said Korea's chronic low productivity is dragging down the automobile industry, adding cooperative relations between labor and management is required.
"The domestic automobile industry is faced with various difficulties in and outside of the country," a KAMA official said. "And high hope is on Jeong to exploit his experience at the industry ministry."
Jeong earned his Ph.D in economics at Paris Nanterre University.
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