Selected for Industrial Sector Innovation and Merit Award
Public Relations Award goes to Hwang Gwansik, Executive Director at Hyundai Motor, and Moon Jihee, Manager at Welcome
Stefan Deblaise, President of Renault Korea, and Han Sang-yoon, President of BMW Group Korea, were selected as the Automotive Persons of the Year by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association.
On the 19th, the Korea Automobile Journalists Association held the '2024 Automotive Person' awards ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, announcing the selection results.
The '2024 Automotive Person' award, which recognizes individuals or organizations that have achieved remarkable results in the automotive industry and public relations fields over the past year and contributed to the development of the automotive industry, consists of four awards in two categories: ▲Industry Innovation Award ▲Industry Achievement Award ▲Public Relations (In-house) ▲Public Relations (Agency). After receiving candidate recommendations from all member companies of the association by category, the final winners were selected through voting by a judging panel composed of the association's executive officers, board of directors, and advisory group.
The Industry Innovation Award was given to Stefan Deblaise, President of Renault Korea, and the Achievement Award was awarded to Han Sang-yoon, President of BMW Group Korea. In the Public Relations category, Hwang Gwan-sik, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, and Moon Ji-hee, Deputy General Manager of Welcome Associates, were honored with awards respectively.
Since his appointment in 2022, President Deblaise has contributed to laying the foundation for Renault Korea's resurgence. With an engineering background, he has directly led the ‘Aurora Project’ for the development of new vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars, and also prepared an investment plan exceeding 1.5 trillion KRW by 2027. He is credited with playing a significant role in Renault Korea being selected as the hub responsible for the development and production of Renault Group’s global mid-size and large vehicles. The first model of the Aurora Project, the Grand Koleos, launched last September, surpassed 10,000 cumulative sales in the shortest period among Renault Korea’s new vehicles ever.
Han Sang-yoon, who received the Industry Achievement Award, has been recognized for expanding the base of the domestic imported car market and setting new standards over the past 30 years in the imported car industry. He was the first in Korea’s imported car industry to serve as both an overseas branch manager (BMW Malaysia) and the head of the Korean office. He has actively worked on expanding facilities for the development of the automotive industry and customers, especially focusing on building electric vehicle infrastructure and acting as a bridge for Korean companies’ overseas expansion.
Hwang Gwan-sik, who won the Public Relations award, took the lead in effectively promoting Hyundai Motor Group’s excellent technology and future vision through major domestic and international events such as the Busan Motor Show, New York Motor Show, and the Ioniq 9 World Premiere. He also significantly contributed to enhancing the brand’s prestige at various activities Hyundai Motor Company and Kia conducted on the global stage this year, including the inauguration of Hyundai Motor Group’s Singapore Innovation Center, the archery competition at the Paris Olympics, and Hyundai Motor’s listing on the Indian stock market.
Moon Ji-hee, Deputy General Manager who received the Public Relations award, has been responsible for the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands since 2012. She contributed to delivering automotive industry news by developing creative test drive events and easy-to-understand, engaging media materials. She quickly planned and publicized every important investment BMW made in the Korean market and worked on content creation that combined automobiles and culture. Additionally, she effectively communicated industry changes and prospects in line with the brands’ full-scale electrification strategies.
Choi Dae-yeol, President of the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, said, "The Automotive Person Award, established in 2019, carries the meaning that about 200 journalists from 58 media outlets celebrate the achievements of automotive persons who have shone in the automotive industry this year and encourage them to work even harder for the development of the automotive industry in the new year." He added, "Once again, I send my congratulations to those honored with the award."
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