Eong-in Park, chairman and president of Hyundai Mobis, was awarded the 2002 Korean Quality Manager Grand Prize recently. Mobis is the principal supplier of parts and components for Kia Motors.
Kia Motors' chief operating officer Mark Juhn said: "Kia has been focusing on producing higher and higher quality vehicles over the past few years and our achievements have been recognised around the world at a number of different levels.
"This award is a clear indication that Kia's commitment to quality goes beyond the vehicles themselves and extends to every part and component that we use.
"We congratulate Mr Park on winning the award and share his dediction toward constant improvement."
The Korean Quality Manager Grand Prize is among the top quality awards in Korea. Given annually by the Korean Society for Quality Management in partnership with Sweden's Linköping University, the prize recognises achievements in all fields of quality management. Mr Park was especially cited for his use of daily Webconferences with his staff and his dedication to product quality and electronic commerce.
In 1998 Mr Park received the Silver Tower, one of Korea's top industrial awards, from President Kim Dae-jung in recognition of his achievements in increasing exports as CEO of Hyundai Mobis, a position he assumed in 1997.
For Kia, this is the latest in a number of top quality awards. In 1991, Kia became the first automaker to receive Korea's Total Quality Control (TQC) Grand Prize, equivalent to Japan's Deming Prize and America's Malcolm Baldridge Award.
The following year, Kia was again honoured as the first auto manufacturer to receive the Grand Prize for General Facilities Management at the 18th annual National Quality Management Competition. In 2001, Kia Motors CEO Noi-myung Kim collected the Grand Prize at the 27th Korean National Quality Management Awards.
Founded in 1977 as Hyundai Precision, Hyundai Mobis is a sister company of Kia Motors Corporation within the Hyundai Automotive Group and is the principal supplier of parts and accessories to all Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
Founded in 1944, Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.co.kr) is Korea's oldest manufacturer of automobiles. A part of the Hyundai Automobile Group the company currently exports around 600,000 vehicles per year through a network of distributors that covers 160 countries. Kia Motors is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open.