Kia Regular Shareholders Meeting
President Song Ho-sung's Declaration
Expand Presence with EV6
Innovate All Internal Processes
Establish ESG Response System
Confirmed Name Change to 'Kia'
Professor Cho Hwa-soon of Yonsei University
Appointed as First Female Outside Director
Kia President Song Ho-sung declared that the company will become the number one player in the global electric vehicle market.
On the morning of the 22nd, at the 77th regular shareholders' meeting held at Kia headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, President Song said, "We will launch electric vehicles across all segments in the future and grow into a global Tier 1 (top-tier) brand."
He emphasized, "We will successfully launch the first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6, in July to expand our presence in the electric vehicle market. In the PBV (Purpose Built Vehicle) sector, we will quickly pioneer the market using existing vehicles and expand our business through open innovation and independent platform development to leap to global number one."
He added, "In the mobility sector, we will respond to the needs of diverse customer groups, including B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business), and B2G (business-to-government), and expand Kia’s differentiated mobility services using electric vehicles."
Kia held its 77th regular shareholders' meeting on the 22nd at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul. At the meeting, Kia President Song Ho-sung presented a vision, stating, "We will launch electric vehicles across all vehicle segments and grow into a global Tier 1 (top-level) brand."
He also mentioned the ongoing efforts to improve quality and organizational culture. President Song stated, "We aim to innovate all internal processes from the customer's perspective," explaining, "We plan to proactively address safety and quality issues to enhance customer trust and strengthen quality competitiveness." He further said, "We will focus on internal organizational culture innovation and establish an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) response system to fulfill our corporate responsibilities."
Additionally, he outlined plans to strengthen market dominance by solidifying internal foundations. President Song explained, "In domestic and advanced markets, we will reinforce our market position and build an EV brand image, while in emerging markets, we will continuously expand sales centered on internal combustion engine vehicles to strengthen market dominance."
Kia held its 77th regular general meeting of shareholders on the 22nd at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul.
On the same day, Kia also finalized its name change. President Song stated, "Changing the company name from Kia Motors to Kia signifies an 'expansion of business' and represents a transformation into a brand that provides innovative mobility experiences to customers beyond just manufacturing and selling vehicles."
He added, "Despite the global automotive industry demand sharply declining last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we sold 2,662,000 units in the global market, achieving a market share of 3.7%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. We have laid the foundation to lead future changes by expanding our global market presence."
At the shareholders' meeting, Professor Cho Hwa-soon of Yonsei University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy was appointed as the first female outside director in Kia’s history. Professor Cho will also serve as an audit committee member. She said, "As the first political scientist elected as a full member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, I have conducted extensive research on technology policy and future governance. I will contribute to Kia’s development by providing professional advice based on my expertise."
Meanwhile, a total of 2,370 people attended the meeting, including proxies with power of attorney and shareholders who voted electronically. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Kia implemented social distancing by spacing seats and assigning designated seating. Accordingly, about 110 people attended the meeting held in four zones. Before the meeting started, some shareholders who appeared to be in their 60s and 70s disputed the order of guidance and seating with employee shareholders who had entered earlier. After the meeting began, there were protests about the lack of separate explanations for the financial statements and the allocation of speaking rights to specific individuals, resulting in no agenda being resolved until nearly 10 a.m.
On the 22nd, when Kia Motors' shareholders' meeting was held, officials were entering the Hyundai Kia Motors Yangjae building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
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