Hyundai CE taps Kong as new COO

Kong

Hyundai Construction Equipment has named 30-year company veteran Ki Young Kong as its new chief operating officer.

Kong, who has held numerous positions at Hyundai CE including head of global forklift sales and head of production,  replaces S.G. Rhee who recently retired.

Beyond steering “the company through challenging times amid a recessive economy in global markets like Brazil, Russia, China and many others,” Hyundai CE praised Rhee for creating a “comprehensive program to reduce operating costs and to re-align and minimize the number of key suppliers.”

In response to the news that Kong was named as his successor at COO, Rhee says “K.Y. Kong and I have managed numerous projects together [and] this makes me believe that this transition should work out smoothly.”

“Technology, quality, marketing and HR are the key drivers for sustainable growth in our business,” Kong says. “I am very confident that by focusing on these 4 pillars we will deliver great value to our customers, grow our marketshare, and achieve our goal of becoming a global top-three construction equipment manufacturer and a top-ten material handling equipment manufacturer.”