Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Hyundai Motor appoints new head for struggling autonomous driving division
Headquarters of Hyundai Motor and Kia in Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Lee Min-hyung
Park Min-woo, head of Hyundai Motor Group's Advanced Vehicle Platform Division and new CEO of 42dot / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group has appointed Park Min-woo, a prominent autonomous driving expert, as the new head for its struggling Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division. Park will also serve as CEO of 42dot, the group’s self-driving software developing unit, the carmaker said Tuesday.
Park is renowned for his tech expertise in autonomous driving, having led relevant projects from industry-leading players such as Nvidia and Tesla.
He will fill the void of former 42dot CEO Song Chang-hyun who left the company in December apparently by taking responsibility for the carmaker’s delayed self-driving progress.
“Hyundai Motor Group has a strong base to lead an era of physical artificial intelligence (AI) with a broad portfolio encompassing software-driven vehicles, autonomous driving and robotics,” Park said.
“I will devote myself to driving the carmaker to provide the benchmark for innovation in intelligent mobility,” he said.
Before taking on his new role, Park played a central role in developing Nvidia's autonomous driving software as its vice president.
He is also renowned for designing and developing Tesla Vision — the carmaker’s camera-based autopilot system, before moving to Nvidia.
The new autonomous driving chief from Hyundai Motor Group will focus on realigning the carmaker’s self-driving road map and painting a long-term strategy for the carmaker to break through the toughening competition in the global autonomous driving industry.