There is a new man at the helm of Hankook’s European operations.

The South Korean manufacturer announced the appointment of Jin-Wook Choi, executive vice president and member of the board of Hankook Tire Co, to the position of head of Europe Headquarters.

Choi brings to the position more than 33 years of international business experience with Hankook, including more than eight years at top management level.For Choi, this latest appointment also means a return to familiar territory; from the mid to late 1990s he served as the managing director for Hankook Tire’s German subsidiary.

“As the mid-term goal we want to anchor the Hankook brand among the European premium tyre manufacturers,” said Choi. “Our products are already developed and produced to fulfill even the highest demands from leading European car manufacturers. Now we need to focus our efforts on informing consumers about our innovative, technologically advanced and environmentally friendly tyres engineered and made in Europe for European drivers.”

Choi assumes the role from Seung-Do Jin who Hankook says played a major role in successfully expanding the company’s European activities, particularly with the start of the company’s European tyre manufacturing plant in Hungary, which opened in June 2007. Jin will officially retire at the end of December 2008.