April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Nissan Korea on Jan. 20 said it has appointed Huh Sung-joong to head the Korean unit of Japanese automaker, effective Feb. 1.

Huh, who served as the vice president of Nissan Philippines, will replace former President Takehiko Kikuchi, who resigned in December, citing personal reasons. Industry watchers, however, view his resignation as a move to take responsibility for Nissan’s emission-rigging scandal here. 

Huh, who is the first Korean to head the Japanese unit, will be responsible to develop strategies to maximize profits and roll out new cars in the market.

“Korea is a very important market for Nissan,” said Yutaka Sanada, senior vice president of Nissan’s Asia and Oceania region, who Hur will be reporting to. “The newly appointed management will speed up Nissan’s growth in the dynamic Korean market.”

Huh, who began his Nissan career at its luxury brand Inifniti in 2005, held a variety of marketing and sales positions in Korea, Australia and Philippines before landing the top spot.

The automaker also named Kang Seung-won, the sales department head, as the new CEO of Inifniti Korea, effective April 1. The outgoing CEO Lee Chang-hwan will head Infiniti Australia.

Last year, Nissan was mired in a series of emissions scandal. In May, the Ministry of Environment slapped a penalty of 340 million won (USD$290,642) and banned sales of Nissan Qashqai crossover after the automaker allegedly manipulated emissions results.

In November, the ministry found that Nissan’s luxury brand Inifiniti’s Q50 also circumvented emission results, during the all-out inspection launched by the authorities in the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)