Hyundai Kia Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-koo was named Asia’s best automotive business leader by the U.S.-based industry publication Automotive News on Monday.

The list names top CEOs and executives from the automotive industries of Asia, Europe and North America.

For North America, Automotive News picked Ford Motor Co.’s Allan Mulally as the top CEO, and Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn for Europe.

In this year’s list of auto industry “All-Stars,” Automotive News selected Chung as the top CEO among Asian firms for his part in increasing Hyundai’s presence in the global market.

Automotive News said that Chung had transformed Hyundai into a “superpower” and managed to push up global sales and market share despite the difficult economic conditions of last year.

The U.S. publication also cited Hyundai’s drive to improve the quality of its vehicles and expand into new segments as being among Chung’s achievements.

Along with Chung, Automotive News also named Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik the top U.S. executive at an Asian carmaker for his part in pushing up Hyundai’s U.S. sales and market share in 2009.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)