Euisun Chung will be the new chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group, the group announced today. He succeeds his father as leader of the conglomerate. Euisun wants to focus on new technologies and further change the corporate culture within Hyundai.
Mong-Koo Chung, Euisun’s 81-year-old father, has been at the helm of Hyundai Motor Group for 20 years. He was the son of Hyundai founder Ju-Yung Chung. The Hyundai Motor Group is the umbrella company under which the Hyundai, Ioniq, Kia and Genesis brands fall. In addition, Hyundai’s steel and construction companies fall under the conglomerate. So Euisun Chung will be given considerable responsibility. He was already executive vice chairman, but may now take the highest position as chairman of the board. Mong-Koo was appointed honorary chairman at the changing of the guard.
At his inauguration, Chung said he would like to remain customer-focused as Hyundai continues to develop new technologies. He also wants to transform the corporate culture of the traditional and hierarchical Hyundai into a more horizontal culture. With this, Chung hopes to stimulate creativity among his employees and speed up decision-making processes. Euisun has already had a long career within Hyundai. He started as a purchasing manager in 1999 and took over at the helm of Kia in 2005. In 2009, he became Vice President of Hyundai Motor (not the group) and has led, among other things, the launch of Genesis. In 2018, Chung joined the Hyundai Motor Group as Executive Vice Chairman, of which he will now become Chairman of the Board.