SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday carried out a reshuffle underlying its renewed focus and command over software-defined mobility capabilities.
Jin Eun-sook, Vice President of the ICT Division, was promoted to President to become the first female president in the history of Hyundai Motor Company and the third female leader within the broader group, joining the ranks of top executives at Hyundai Commercial and Innocean.
Jin, having previously served as CTO of NHN, is recognized for her deep expertise in cloud computing, data, and platforms, as well as her global strategic vision.
Since joining the group as Head of the ICT Division in 2022, she has spearheaded key digital transformation initiatives, including the integration of the group’s "Global One App" and the establishment of a next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
In her new role, Jin is expected to accelerate the group’s digital shift by fostering a developer-centric corporate culture and enhancing the development and operational capabilities of the group’s overall IT systems and infrastructure, the company said.
Hyundai AutoEver, the group’s dedicated software arm, separately named Ryoo Seok-moon as its new CEO-designate. Ryoo, a seasoned software engineer, joined the company in 2024 to lead its Software Platform Business Division, where he oversaw critical projects in IT system architecture and vehicle software development.
Ryoo brings a wealth of experience from the broader tech and mobility sectors, having served as CTO of the car-sharing platform Socar and Technical Director at Riot Games. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to internalize high-level technical leadership and cultivate top-tier development talent within the organization.
"This reshuffle is characterized by placing leaders with proven technical and development expertise at the forefront of our software and IT divisions," a Hyundai Motor Group official said. "We will continue to strengthen our technology-driven management and sustain group-wide investments to complete our transition into a software-defined mobility company."
On December 3, Song Chang-hyun, founder and CEO of 42dot - Hyundai’s autonomous-driving subsidiary - and head of Hyundai’s Advanced Vehicle Platform division, resigned - shortly after Tesla showcased its Full Self-Driving in Seoul from late November. 42dot has been testing self-driving buses in downtown Seoul, but the technology embedded in Hyundai and Kia production vehicles has yet to reach the midpoint of the autonomy race by global benchmarks.
Hyundai Motor's latest appointments, therefore, are seen as a process of centralizing software expertise at the parent company, moving away from a fragmented structure across the group’s subsidiaries.
“The core reason Hyundai trades at a chronic discount is the fragmentation of its software capabilities across affiliates such as 42dot, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai AutoEver and Boston Dynamics,” said Choi Tae-young, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities.
“The real challenge is empowering one lead entity to standardize data and fundamentally change how the organization works,” added Lee Hyun-wook, a researcher at IBK Securities.
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