Stellantis Korea names first Korean woman director

Bang Sil will be the first female and first Korean managing director to lead Stellantis Korea since the car manufacturer began its Korean operation in 2021. The appointment will become effective on Feb. 1.

Bang Sil, new head of Stellantis Korea [STELLANTIS KOREA]

Stellantis Korea has appointed Bang Sil as its new head, the automaker's Korean arm said Tuesday.

Bang is both the first female and first Korean managing director to lead Stellantis Korea since it began its Korean operation in 2021. The appointment will become effective on Feb. 1.

Bang has more than 20 years of experience in the automobile field. At Volkswagen Korea, where she made her entrance into the industry, Bang supervised marketing and served as the first female executive at the company.

She then moved to Renault Korea Motors in 2015 and headed marketing for nine years.

"I'm very honored but feel huge responsibility for this important role in Stellantis," Bang said. "I will try my best to increase awareness of Stellantis in Korea by strengthening communications between customers and dealers."

Stellantis is currently struggling with declining sales in Korea. It sells three brands in the Korean market: Jeep, Peugeot and DS.

A total of 4,512 Jeep vehicles were sold in Korea last year, down 37 percent on year. Peugeot sold 2,026 units while DS sold just 153, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.

Stellantis in October last year offered voluntary separation packages to salaried employees in Korea, though it declined to confirm the specific number of planned job reductions. Earlier, in April, Stellantis had offered voluntary buyouts to 33,500 U.S. employees, citing plans to streamline operations.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]