SEOUL, South Korea (June 13, 2008) — Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. said it will increase its research and development funding devoted to environmental issues, particularly lowering rolling resistance in tires.
Hankook plans to boost the portion of its R&D budget for environmental issues to more than $19 million annually, after spending about $4.3 million annually during the past several years, the firm said. The announcement was made to coincide with World Environment Day, organized annually in early June by the United Nations Environment Program.
Overall, Hankook's R&D budget is equal to about 5 percent of its annual sales—or about $174 million last year. At that level, the environmental portion would represent about 11 percent of R&D spending.