Hyundai Motor Group has tapped Seo Gang-hyun, president of Hyundai Steel, to lead the Planning and Coordination Office, the group's overarching control tower that establishes management strategy and oversees business across all affiliates. Vice Chair Jang Jae-hoon, who had concurrently handled planning and coordination, is expected to focus on finished-vehicle duties.
According to an industry source on the 17th, Hyundai Motor Group plans to appoint Seo as the new Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination through personnel changes to be announced as early as the 18th. Lee Bo-ryong, head of production (executive vice president), has been named to succeed him as president of Hyundai Steel.
Seo is regarded within Hyundai Motor Group as a leading finance expert. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in international economics, he began his executive career in 2013 as head of management (associate executive), then served as head of accounting (senior vice president), head of finance (executive vice president), and head of planning and finance (executive vice president), before becoming president of Hyundai Steel in 2023.
Hyundai Motor Group's Planning and Coordination Office is a core unit that drafts the blueprint for the group's overall businesses and oversees personnel, finance, and investment. It has been held by figures such as former Vice Chair Kim Yong-hwan, considered the group's "No. 2" during the tenure of Chair Chung Mong-koo, and former President Kim Geol, then regarded as a finance expert. After Kim stepped down late last year, Vice Chair Jang Jae-hoon, in charge of finished vehicles, also handled planning and coordination duties.
Hyundai Motor Group's decision to select Seo as the new Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination is seen as an effort to improve deteriorating profitability and boost competitiveness in the underperforming research and development (R&D) institutional sector.
Hyundai Motor and Kia have faced major difficulties this year as the United States imposed high tariff rates. Since April, the U.S. has levied a 25% tariff on imported cars, and Hyundai Motor's operating profit in the third quarter came to 2.5373 trillion won, down 29.2% from a year earlier. Kia's operating profit over the same period plunged 49.2% to 1.4622 trillion won.
They are also falling behind in Autonomous Driving technology development. While Tesla and General Motors (GM) are commercializing autonomous vehicles that are close to fully self-driving, Hyundai Motor has yet to secure core technology. Hyundai Motor Group acquired its Autonomous Driving subsidiary 42dot and has made large-scale investments in recent years, but it has yet to produce meaningful results. Former President Song Chang-hyeon, who led Autonomous Driving development, also stepped down earlier this month.
Hyundai Motor Group also has a series of large-scale investment plans lined up. In partnership with POSCO, it plans to invest a total of $5.8 billion (about 8.6 trillion won) to build a steel mill in the United States. It also plans to construct the Global Business Complex (GBC), a new headquarters building in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
An official at a group affiliate said, "There was broad agreement that to restore deteriorated profitability and carry out new businesses and investments efficiently, someone well-versed in internal housekeeping needed to oversee planning and coordination," adding, "Seo, the group's representative finance expert, appears to have been judged the right fit."