Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun met the king of the Asante Kingdom during a recent visit to Ghana, highlighting the South Korean automaker’s growing ties with the West African country.
Chung visited Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, the capital of Ghana’s Ashanti Region, on July 15 and paid a courtesy call on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, known as the Asantehene, one of Ghana’s most revered traditional rulers, according to local media reports and official social media posts from the palace.
Chung was accompanied by senior Hyundai Motor Group executives, including Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon and Kia President and CEO Song Ho-sung, among others.
During the meeting Chung gave Osei Tutu II a miniature model of the Pony, Hyundai’s first mass-produced car and South Korea’s first domestically developed automobile. Chung also presented the king with an autobiography of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung, Chung Euisun’s grandfather.
The king welcomed Chung with a piece of kente, the colorful traditional fabric closely associated with the Asante people.
During his visit, Chung also attended a forum jointly hosted by Hyundai Motor Group and Bank of America at the University of Ghana in Accra. The forum brought together key figures from Ghana’s government, business and financial sectors to discuss industrial cooperation and investment opportunities in the country.
The visit comes as the South Korean carmaker looks to deepen its foothold in Ghana and other African markets.
Hyundai Motor has operated a vehicle assembly facility in Tema, Ghana’s largest port city, since 2022 through a local distributor. The plant assembles vehicles using completely knocked down, or CKD, kits imported from overseas. Its sister brand Kia also assembles vehicles in Ghana through a CKD facility operated with local partner Rana Motors.
The Ghanaian government has been seeking to attract an additional Hyundai production facility separate from the automaker’s existing assembly operation in the country.
During a visit to South Korea in June, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the two countries planned to establish a Hyundai manufacturing base in Ghana serving the broader West African market.
Hyundai Motor Group, however, said no decision had been made on an additional plant.
“Chung’s visit was aimed at reviewing our local sales network and assessing market conditions,” a Hyundai Motor Group official said. “Nothing has been decided regarding a new production facility in Ghana.”
