Kia Director Addresses Rotary Club of Carrollton

CARROLLTON, Ga. June 10, 2008 — On Tuesday, Randy Jackson, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc.’s (KMMG) director of human resources and administration, addressed the Rotary Club of Carrollton at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, Ga. During the noon-hour meeting, Jackson spoke about the automotive industry and its fast pace, the benchmark-setting 43,000+ applications received during Kia’s online application phase earlier this year, many of which did come from the Carroll County area, Kia’s relationship with Hyundai, the 2,245-acre plant site and the indirect jobs linked to Kia through suppliers and other businesses locating in the area as a result of Kia’s decision to come to West Point, Ga.

“The excitement level is overwhelming throughout this state,” Jackson told club members.

Jackson said that since Kia first started putting down roots in Georgia, it has been setting records. At full production, the plant will produce around 300,000 vehicles a year.

He told the group that it is Kia’s policy to have people work 40 hours of pre-hire time before offering them a job to make sure the potential employee is a good fit for the job.

“When we hire somebody, we want them to stay with us for the long-term,” Jackson said. “We don’t want them to make a mistake, nor do we. So we try to give them as much on the front end so that they make sure they’re making a good decision to join our company.”

Jackson said that Kia could have put the plant anywhere, but decided to locate in Georgia. He noted that local support through the purchase of Kia vehicles will only help the plant grow.

“It’s a little like coming home,” Jackson, who was born in Macon, Ga., stated. “I never thought that when I left, I’d be back in the state some 25 years later leading the largest project in the history of the state of Georgia.”

“The KMMG culture is to create the new plant by taking the best of the Korean and American way and blending them together on a foundation of trust and open two-way communications to deliver a result of the “Best of the Best” in North America,” he said.

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, and is scheduled to begin production in the last quarter of 2009. At full capacity, the plant will have the ability to produce 300,000 vehicles annually and employ approximately 2,500 team members.