GM Korea CEO visits Changwon plant amid US tariff-related exit concerns

This photo shows the company's Chief Executive Officer Hector Villarreal talks to employees at the company's Changwon plant in South Gyeongsang Province, provided by GM Korea, May 15. Yonhap

The chief executive officer (CEO) of GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, has visited the automaker's Changwon plant to encourage employees amid growing concerns over a potential withdrawal driven by shifting U.S. tariff policies, the company said Friday.

GM Korea CEO Hector Villarreal visited the plant, located 298 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Thursday to meet with employees and reinforce on-site management, the company said in a press release.

Speculations over GM's possible exit from Korea have been mounting following the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles in the United States since April, along with the automaker's lack of new models and sluggish sales.

GM Korea ships about 85 percent of its exports to America.

The Detroit-based automaker operates two plants in Korea: one in Bupyeong, just west of Seoul, and another in Changwon.

The Bupyeong plant produces the Trailblazer sport utility vehicle (SUV), while the Changwon factory manufactures the Trax Crossover for both domestic sales and exports.

In the January–April period, GM Korea's sales fell 9.1 percent to 154,161 vehicles, down from 169,638 units a year earlier.