Hyundai Motor chairman visits US, seeks business opportunities

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun is visiting the United States seeking business opportunities in one of the South Korean automotive group’s most important overseas markets.

According to auto industry sources on Apr. 23, Chung left for the US last weekend on his private airplane.

His US visit marks his second overseas trip since he took the helm of the group in October 2020 as cross-border travels have been largely curtailed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January this year, he traveled to Singapore to check on the construction of the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore (HMGICS).

In his US trip, he has visited Hyundai Motor Co.’s sales office in Los Angeles and Hyundai’s car manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Alabama, the sources said.

Industry watchers said Chung may be checking out the possibility of producing electric vehicles such as Hyundai’s IONIQ5 and Kia Corp.’s EV6 in the US. Hyundai has been considering building EVs in its overseas markets.

He is also seeking business opportunities, including investments, following on Hyundai’s acquisition of US robotics firm Boston Dynamics Inc. from SoftBank Group for $880 million in December 2020, they said.

Some industry watchers said he may also meet with US golfer Tiger Woods, who was recently hurt in a car crash while driving his Genesis GV80 SUV, a premium brand made by Hyundai.

Chung and Woods are said to have known each other for more than a decade.

Industry officials said Chung is returning home on Apr. 24.

A Hyundai Motor Group official declined to confirm his US trip.

Write to Byung-Uk Do at dodo@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.