Vice President Lee Byung-ho of Hyundai Motor Co.

Vice President Lee Byung-ho of Hyundai Motor Co. won the Industrial Merit Bronze Tower Medal at the 50th Trade Day ceremony on Dec. 5 at COEX in southern Seoul.

The citation said he was responsible for paving the way for the motor firm to export its cars and car components to the United States in 1987 when he was the division head for auto parts and the marketing division of the carmaker during the early days of its operations in the largest car market country in the world.

From 1999 to 2006, he was in charge of overseas marketing and sports marketing for the carmaker and help set up Korea’s World Cup marketing system, the citation said.

VP Lee was credited with having had a big hand in helping set up the carmaker’s motor show management system to create headway in strengthening its global image. In January 2009 he became the head of the motor company’s subsidiary in the United States and has been credited with playing a big part in boosting sales of Hyundai cars in the United States from 530,000 units in 2010 to 640,000 units the following year and more than 700,000 units in 2012, up more than 10 percent annually from just 400,000 units in 2009 despite the financial crisis gripping the nation, helping to make Hyundai Motor a global car maker, while expanding Korea’s export markets around the world, thus improving Korea’s national brand.

Lee was also given huge credit for his creative marketing devices such as the now famous “Assurance Program” guaranteeing prices for used Hyundai cars, a warrantee program for environmental car batteries, and other marketing programs full of creativity ushering in a great opportunity to boost Hyundai cars’ brand images to U.S. media and consumers.

He also was given credit for increased sales of the Genesis and the Equus, the luxury car models for Hyundai, by placing ads at such gigantic cultural events as the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards presentation ceremonies hugely expanding Hyundai’s market, previously limited to small and medium cars. His achievements from 2009 when he took control of the U.S. subsidiary were more glaring compared to the losses suffered by rival automakers in 2009 such as Toyota, with an 8 percent loss in sales, Honda with a 2 percent loss, GM with a 15 percent loss, and Ford with a 20 percent loss.

On the contrary, Hyundai’s U.S. sales increased more than 70 percent and at the same time, expanded its U.S. car market share to close to 5 percent from a mere 3 percent in 2009. The car maker’s cumulative sales in the United States reached over 8 million units with 6 million of them shipped from Korea, with a huge contribution to making Korea the No. 5 auto maker nation in the world, enhancing the development of the auto industry in Korea and its competitive power around the world. 

New Hyundai cars awaiting to be loaded to ships at a harbor in Korea.