Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun speaks at the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, Monday. He unveiled a $21 billion investment plan in the U.S. over the next four years. UPI-Yonhap

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun made headlines for his bold multibillion-dollar bet on the United States to immediately eliminate the carmaker's mounting tariff risks there.

Chung is widely known for his corporate management philosophy focusing on manpower and engineering technology. He stood at the forefront of the latest decision on a surprise $21 billion (31 trillion won) investment in the U.S. mainland.

The investment drew praise from U.S. President Donald Trump and drastically reduced concerns about the effect of Trump's upcoming 25-percent auto tariffs on the carmaker.

The third-generation heir to the group took office in 2020 as the highest-ranking executive. Under his leadership, Hyundai has solidified its position as the world's third-largest carmaker in terms of global auto sales.

Chung has also played a crucial role in the carmaker preemptively expanding its market influence in electric vehicles (EVs) and eco-friendly mobility, as evidenced by its solid EV sales in the U.S. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold more than 120,000 EVs combined last year in the world's largest economy, and maintained the second spot in market share there.

Industry officials spoke highly of Chung's move to take the bull by the horns.

"Once-prevalent fears of the upcoming U.S. tariff on Hyundai Motor Group have rapidly been cleared away following Chung's meeting with Trump," an official from a conglomerate said. "This was driven by his agile and bold decision-making. The latest announcement also looks very timely."

Early this year, the head of Hyundai Motor Group expressed confidence in overcoming external uncertainty with manpower and engineering expertise.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, second from left, along with U.S. President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, gather at the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, Monday. AP-Yonhap

"We should remain undaunted even in the face of ongoing challenges and market uncertainties," Chung said during the group's New Year's address in January. "We will fall into the trap of complacency without crisis, and this will end up exposing us to a bigger danger."

Chung promoted a group of U.S. experts to president-level executives during the group's 2024 year-end reshuffle of top management. Jose Muñoz, head of Hyundai Motor's U.S. business, became its first foreign CEO, and Sung Kim, former U.S. ambassador to Korea, also took office as president of the carmaker. The appointment was aimed at preemptively bracing for escalating risks in the Trump era.

Chung also spearheaded the carmaker's rise to becoming a tech-driven EV maker. Shortly after taking office as its chairman, Chung focused on developing its own EV-dedicated platform — the Electric-Global Modular Platform.

The platform is widely used by Hyundai Motor and Kia's flagship EV models, including the IONIQ and EV series. The IONIQ 5 and the EV6, two representative EV models equipped with the platform, have won multiple prominent awards from the global market. Both carmakers are also widening their EV lineup, introducing price-competitive models and large SUVs, in a bid to preemptively absorb demand even during the EV chasm, a plateau before mass EV adoption.

"Hyundai Motor Group is undeniably one of the fastest-growing Korean conglomerates here in terms of global sales and brand value," an official from the car industry said. "The pace of its growth is particularly outstanding, as is shown by its swift yet robust transition to EVs. Few would deny Chung's leadership propelled the solid growth of the carmaker in recent years."