New president, COO takes over at Hankook Europe

Neu-Isenburg, Germany – Hankook Tire Europe has appointed Han-Jun Kim as its new president and chief operation officer, effective 1 Jan.

Kim is taking over the position of COO for Europe and CIS from Ho-Youl Pae, who “significantly contributed” to establishing the Hankook brand in Europe, the South Korean company announced 2 Jan.

Kim holds a master’s degree in business administration and joined Hankook in 2011. He most recently served as VP for corporate management at the company’s global headquarters in Seoul.

"The challenge in the coming years is to further grow our brand awareness, brand presence and image in Europe,” said Kim, commenting on his future policies.

This, he said, would help establish Hankook as “a global premium brand.”

Hankook has increased its presence in Europe in the recent years, including through the third expansion phase of its production plant in Hungary. It also opened a winter tire testing facility in Finland in 2017.