Mercedes-Benz Korea on Tuesday said it named Choi Duk-jun from its Chinese operations as the new vice president of sales.

Choi, 49, is currently head of network development at Mercedes-Benz China and will start his new job on Jan. 1.

Choi joined Mercedes-Benz China in 1999 to become regional manager handling Korea for passenger car sales and marketing.

During his seven-year term in China, the number of dealerships rose from an initial 60 to more than 300. The number has made the dealership network in China one of the biggest in the world.

Choi was one of the founding members of Mercedes-Benz Korea.

“I’m very happy to have Mr. Choi head our sales,” said Britta Seeger, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Korea. “We believe we would grow further based on his professional knowledge and leadership.”

Mattias Laznik, the current head of sales and marketing who is cited as a key force behind Mercedes-Benz Korea’s success, will be relocating to Mercedes-Benz Argentina to take charge of passenger cars.

Mercedes-Benz Korea recently unveiled its flagship New S-Class in Korea as a part of its blueprint for doubling its sales by 2020.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)