AMCHAM James Kim renamed as chairman
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James Kim
By Choi Kyong-ae
The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) has reappointed former Microsoft Korea country manager James Kim as its chief, AMCHAM said Thursday.
In a vote Thursday, the AMCHAM Board of Governors has agreed to allow Kim to continue his role as chairman of the U.S. business lobby for the rest of the year, AMCHAM spokeswoman Roxi Hwang said.
“He is the first Korean-American chairman of AMCHAM and has ably led the organization from Jan. 1, 2014 to the present. He served as chief of MS Korea for the past six-and-a-half years,” AMCHAM said.
Kim, fluent in Korean, played a prominent role in representing the interests of U.S. companies in Korea to the Korean government and helping resolve pending issues facing U.S. firms here, Hwang said.
If an AMCHAM chairman quits his job in Korean operations of a U.S. company, he is automatically dismissed from the chairman position. But in case of Kim, he moves to GM Korea, another U.S.-controlled company in Korea, from MS Korea, so there was a vote to allow him to keep his chairman role, she explained.
An AMCHAM chairman is allowed to serve for up to two years. AMCHAM holds a vote every year to fill the chairman post and the term lasts for 12 months. Kim is in his second term as AMCHAM chairman, she said.
Kim quit MS Korea last week to become the president and chief operating officer of GM Korea on June 15. Detroit-based General Motors owns a 77 percent stake in GM Korea led by President and Chief Executive Sergio Rocha.
GM Korea has struggled with declining sales in recent years due to slowing demand at home and abroad, and competition with imported carmakers.
GM Korea sold 252,693 vehicles in the January to May period, down 8.4 percent from 275,835 a year earlier. The decline was affected by exports to emerging markets, according to the carmaker.