Hyundai Motor Group Moves to Appoint Female Outside Directors One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Major affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group are drawing attention as they appoint female outside directors for the first time in history. Given the automotive industry's characteristics, where there are not many women in senior positions, there is also an expectation that this appointment of outside directors will lead to more active participation of women in the automotive sector.

According to the industry on the 21st, Hyundai Mobis announced that it plans to propose an agenda at the shareholders' meeting scheduled for the 24th of next month to recommend Professor Jin-A Kang of Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Technology Management and Economic Policy as its first female outside director candidate.

Professor Kang is an expert who has been active for nearly 30 years in the fields of technology management and business innovation, and is highly regarded for her understanding of the automotive industry, having served as a founding director of the Korea Mobility Society. She is also expected to be appointed as an audit committee member.

Kia also announced that it will hold a shareholders' meeting on the 22nd of next month and propose an agenda to appoint Professor Hwa-Soon Cho of Yonsei University’s Department of Political Science and Diplomacy as an outside director.

Professor Cho, a full member of the Policy Science Division of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, will become Kia’s first female outside director if the agenda passes. She will also serve as an audit committee member.

Hyundai Glovis likewise plans to propose an agenda at the shareholders' meeting on the 24th of next month to appoint Associate Professor Yoon Yoon-Jin of KAIST’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who also serves as a non-standing director at the Korea Land Safety Management Institute, as an outside director and audit committee member.

This is the first time these three companies have recommended female outside director candidates. With the amendment of the Capital Market Act making the appointment of female directors a mandatory element, attention is focused on whether this trend will spread to other affiliates within the group, including Hyundai Motor.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.