YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province -- Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun on Wednesday met with Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, pledging to invest some 23 trillion won ($21.6 billion) and hire 45,000 workers across its five new growth engines in the next five years.

The five areas are automated and connected vehicles; smart cars; robot and artificial intelligence; future energy; and startups.

“Hyundai Motor will try harder to secure future growth engines and to provide more opportunities for subcontractors,” Chung said during a meeting session open to reporters, at Hyundai’s research center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

“As seen at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, technology is changing at a fast pace. Hyundai will further foster our five new core businesses. Some worry that automation will take away jobs, but I believe it will create new opportunities.”

Key Hyundai officials -- Hyundai Steel Co-vice Chairman Woo Yoo-cheol, Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng and Hyundai Mobis CEO Lim Young-deuk -- along with heads of Hyundai’s subcontractors also attended the meeting.

With the company nearing the deadline ordered by Kim Sang-jo, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, to adjust its controversial cross-shareholding arrangements before a shareholders meeting this March, there had been speculations that the issue would be brought up at the meeting.

Kim told reporters that “there were no talks regarding Hyundai’s governance structure.”

Addressing Hyundai Motor’s concerns over a possible shortage of government subsidies for green cars, the government said it would do its best to secure a budget of 255 billion won this year, up 30 percent on-year.

The government will also encourage investments from public and private companies to increase fuel cell charging stations, the ministry said.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s project to build 200 fuel cell chargers nationwide by 2025 have foundered. Last year, the Finance Ministry disapproved of the Transport Ministry’s budget worth 5 billion won to fund the project.

Hyundai Motor recently unveiled its latest fuel cell electric vehicle Nexo with a driving distance of 590 kilometers that can be fully charged in five minutes at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018.

The meeting between Kim and Chung was arranged as part of the Finance Ministry’s one-on-one gatherings with the nation’s conglomerates. Prior to his meeting with Hyundai, Kim had met LG Group Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon last month.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)