The only son of Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-Koo was Friday appointed to the board of South Korea’s top carmaker, fuelling speculation he is being groomed to succeed his 71-year-old father.
Shareholders at their annual meeting approved the appointment of Chung Eui-Sun, 39, a company spokesman said.
The younger Chung was a director of Hyundai’s smaller affiliate Kia Motors before assuming the vice chairman’s post at Hyundai last year.
Hyundai achieved a record net profit of 2.96 trillion won (2.61 billion dollars) last year despite the global economic downturn. It sold a record 3.11 million vehicles in 2009, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier.
Chung senior told shareholders: “Strengthening product quality is the most important task this year, and we aim to increase global sales by keeping quality,” he said. He did not mention the woes of Japan’s Toyota which has recalled millions of vehicles worldwide due to safety concerns.
