Hankook Tire senior official named Hungary's honorary consul

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Hungary has named a senior official of Hankook Tire Co.
as its honorary consul to South Korea in recognition of the company's
contribution to the East European country's economic growth and development, the
company said Tuesday.
Hungarian Vice Foreign Minister Laszlo Varkonyi made the appointment of Hankook
Tire Vice President Cho Hyun-shick on Monday when he visited Seoul. Varkonyi
arrived in South Korea Sunday to accompany Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom's
four-day state visit to South Korea.
Cho is expected to work closely with the Hungarian government to strengthen
cooperation in the economic, tourism, cultural and academic sectors.
"I am honored to be named as Hungary's honorary consul. I extend my gratitude to
the Hungarian government and its President Solyom," Cho said.
Hankook Tire, South Korea's top tire maker, has invested 320 million euros
(US$479 million) to build its factory at Hungary's central city of Dunaujvaros.
The plant currently produces 5 million tires annually.
To raise its annual capacity to 10 million by 2010, the company has invested
additional 230 million euros to expand the facility since September.
Hankook Tire currently supplies 26 European countries with high-performance
passenger car tires.
jia@yna.co.kr
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