New President and new COO for Kia Motors Europe

Kia Motors Corporation is pleased to announce two senior appointments to its top management team in Europe. Mr Kwang-Ho Nam joins the European headquarters of the Frankfurt-based company as the new President of Kia Motors Europe, while Mr Paul Willis takes on the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Mr Nam brings extensive experience of marketing, sales, finance and leadership to KME after performing several senior roles in the Hyundai-Kia organisation in Korea, the USA, China and Europe. Born in Seoul, 53-year old Mr Nam most recently held the position of COO at Mercedes-Benz Korea. Mr Nam takes over from previous KME president Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee who has been promoted to a new role within the Kia global organisation.

Following last November’s announcement that Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, would retire on 31 March 2008, KME has recruited Mr Paul Willis for the position of COO, effective 1 February 2008.

Mr Willis joins from Volkswagen Group UK where he held several senior positions, including Brand Director, since 2000. Prior to joining VW, the 48-year old from Ireland had gained an in-depth knowledge of the automotive industry as a senior manager with Ford and Toyota, followed by director level positions with Mazda (UK) and BMW (GB).

These key strategic appointments are part of KMC’s ‘Vision 2010’ plan to become a major global force in the automotive world by the end of the decade, with an annual capacity to build 2.5 million vehicles annually (including 1 million units outside Korea) and achieve sales of 600,000 units across Western and Eastern Europe each year.

Editors´ Notes

Kia Motors Europe
Kia Motors Europe is the European sales, marketing, and service arm of Kia Motors Corporation. With its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, it covers 29 markets in Europe.

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) was founded in 1944 and is Korea´s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world´s premier automotive brands. Kia´s 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in nine countries produce more than 1.3 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has 33,000 employees and annual revenues of US$19 billion. Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA - governing body of soccer´s FIFA World Cup. Kia boosted its football links this year with three new sponsorships of major teams that will see the Kia logo appearing in the UEFA Champions League - FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FC Brussels and Atletico de Madrid. Kia Motors Corporation´s brand slogan - ´The Power to Surprise´ - represents the company´s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

Press Contact
Mr Panu Vainamo
Tel 0049 69 850 928 352 Email pvainamo@kia-europe.com

Kia Motors Europe GmbH
Theodor-Heuss-Allee 11, 60486 Frankfurt, Germany.
Tel 0049 69 850 928 352 Fax 0049 69 850 928 399