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Chairman of Nexen Tire
Kang Byung-Joong
50-Year ‘Tire King’ Targets $3.6B by 2030
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Last Updated on Apr 7, 2026
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Chairman of Nexen Tire
Life Summary
Kang Byung-joong is Chairman of Nexen Group. He also serves as co-CEO of Nexen, the holding company, and co-CEO of Nexen Tire, the group’s key affiliate.
He presented a goal of achieving annual revenue of KRW 5 trillion (US$3.6 billion) by 2030.
He was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on July 25, 1939.
He graduated from Masan High School and from the Department of Law at Dong-A University. He completed an MBA course at the Pusan National University Graduate School of Business.
He began by importing used cargo trucks and grew the business into a transportation company. He acquired Heung-A Tire’s retread factory and founded Heung-A Tire Industry in 1977.
He established financial companies including Dongnam Bank and Kyongnam Life Insurance, but suffered massive losses during the IMF foreign exchange crisis.
He acquired Woosung Tire, which had been under court receivership, changed its name to Nexen Tire, and became Chairman and CEO in 1999.
He changed the name of Heung-A Tire Industry to Nexen and shifted the governance structure to a holding company system with Nexen at the top.
He is a living witness to the industry who built Nexen Tire into one of South Korea’s three major tire companies. He is called the “tire king.”
He also serves as Chairman of KNN.
#Nexen #NexenTire #KangByungjoong #SouthKorea #tireindustry #businessleader #holdingcompany #KNN #Koreanbusiness #corporateprofile
He presented a goal of achieving annual revenue of KRW 5 trillion (US$3.6 billion) by 2030.
He was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on July 25, 1939.
He graduated from Masan High School and from the Department of Law at Dong-A University. He completed an MBA course at the Pusan National University Graduate School of Business.
He began by importing used cargo trucks and grew the business into a transportation company. He acquired Heung-A Tire’s retread factory and founded Heung-A Tire Industry in 1977.
He established financial companies including Dongnam Bank and Kyongnam Life Insurance, but suffered massive losses during the IMF foreign exchange crisis.
He acquired Woosung Tire, which had been under court receivership, changed its name to Nexen Tire, and became Chairman and CEO in 1999.
He changed the name of Heung-A Tire Industry to Nexen and shifted the governance structure to a holding company system with Nexen at the top.
He is a living witness to the industry who built Nexen Tire into one of South Korea’s three major tire companies. He is called the “tire king.”
He also serves as Chairman of KNN.
#Nexen #NexenTire #KangByungjoong #SouthKorea #tireindustry #businessleader #holdingcompany #KNN #Koreanbusiness #corporateprofile