Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
Amid uncertainties, Hyundai makes great strides under Chairman Chung
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has showcased his leadership after taking the helm of the country's second largest conglomerate by market capitalization amid vast uncertainties including the COVID-19 pandemic and global chip shortages that forced the shutdown of carmakers' plants worldwide.
Chung marks his first anniversary of becoming chairman and CEO of the automotive conglomerate, Oct. 14. But he faced major difficulties in the beginning, which industry officials believe was the harshest succession in recent years compared to other third-generation chaebol heads, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and LG Group Chairman Koo Hyun-mo.
Hyundai and Kia conduct full changeups of their models every five to six years, but several key models were scheduled for the changes this year overlapping with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The automobile industry was hit hard by the protracted pandemic with most automakers delaying the release of new models and reducing marketing expenditure. Many industry watchers expected Hyundai Motor and Kia to follow suit.
But Chung showed a strong will to overcome such difficulties and accelerated the scheduled release of new models.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will cause temporary setbacks, but we are planning diverse contingency plans to not only overcome the crisis but for an early return and stabilization of management,” Chung wrote to his employees in March.
Amid the pandemic, Hyundai and Kia Corp. released new models as scheduled along with electric vehicles (EVs) that utilize the automaker's dedicated E-GMP EV platform.
Due to the aggressive expansion in model lineups, Hyundai Motor saw a 26.4 percent increase in sales in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, selling over 2.03 million vehicles. Total sales rose 22.3 percent to 57.7 trillion won, and operating profit surged 143.6 percent to 3.54 trillion won.
Kia Corp. also saw a 24 percent rise in sales volume to 1.44 million with sales increasing 34.6 percent to 34.9 trillion won in the cited period.
Industry officials believe the drastic rise in sales and profitability is due partly to Chung's efforts to restructure the automaker's organization to become more efficient especially in the decision-making process.
Chung first implemented the responsibility management system by region as senior vice president and has drastically strengthened the initiatives after becoming chairman of the conglomerate. The system allows swift decision making at regional offices, allowing them to better counter respective regional crises, including different countries' lockdown procedures and quarantine measures, as well as swiftly dealing with factory supply chain issues and production setbacks.
“The implementation had a positive impact on Hyundai and Kia's overseas sales increasing drastically amid the pandemic,” an industry official said.