Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 16 January 2025 – With effect from 1 December 2024, premium tyre manufacturer Hankook has named new appointments to several management positions in its European organisation. The previous Managing Director of Hankook Reifen Deutschland GmbH, Hobum Song, has been appointed as the new Vice President Central & Eastern Europe. Hobum Song studied at Kwangwoon University in Seoul. He started his career at Hankook in 2009 as a Senior Manager in the UK, before taking up a Managing Director role in the Netherlands in 2012. This was followed in 2017 by a position as Team Manager of the Global OE Planning Team in the company headquarters in Seoul, before he joined the German subsidiary at the end of 2018.
Hobum Song’s move sees the previous Managing Director of Hankook Tire Austria GmbH, Soo Won Chang, assuming responsibility as Managing Director of Hankook Reifen Deutschland GmbH. Soo Won Chang started his career on the Europe & Africa Team at Hankook Tire Korea after completing his studies at Korea University in 1999. In 2004, he moved to the OE Team in the company headquarters, before taking up the role of Sales & Operations Manager at Hankook Tire Australia in 2005. Other positions saw him return to the headquarters in Korea before a period spent in Indonesia and Malaysia starting in 2012. In December 2018, his focus switched to the European market as the Managing Director of Hankook Austria and Switzerland.
Soo Won Chang’s successor as Managing Director of Hankook Tire Austria is Suk Namkung. An experienced sales specialist and graduate of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Suk Namkung started his career at Hankook in 2008 as a Strategic Marketing Specialist. Following this, he worked as a Supply Chain Manager in the USA and as a Sales Strategy Manager in the company headquarters in Korea until 2020. In January 2021 he moved to Malaysia, where he worked as a General Manager.
