Her Majesty's Visit to Daewoo

As part of her four-day visit to Korea, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Daewoo's automobile design center, The Design Forum. Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Kim Woo-Choong and were given a tour of the facilities of the center.

Daewoo has close economic cooperation ties with the U.K. and this is the reason that Her Majesty has shown interest in visiting The Design Forum. Daewoo's major activities in the U.K. include the Daewoo Worthing Technical Center, the LDV commercial vehicle manufacturing plant, and operations in many other areas such as heavy industries, electronics, and trade.

The Design Forum has cooperative projects with the Daewoo Worthing Technical Center in the development of new car designs, and the Queen was given a tour of its facilities and observed Daewoo's seven models from the mini-car Matiz to the deluxe sedan Chairman.

During Her Majesty's tour of the center, the Queen showed particular interest in the engine parts of the mini-car Matiz, which the Daewoo Worthing Technical Center in the U.K. contributed to the development of. She also spoke with some British technicians at the center and observed the production of the "millennium car Mirae" displayed at the Seoul Motor Show in May. During Her Majesty's stay in Korea, Daewoo's Chairman Limousine was used as the official protocol vehicle. The Chairman Limousine is the most expensive and luxurious sedan in Korea and features an automatic system run by a computer that controls the brakes, the engine and transmission to provide an optimum ride. Car navigation systems, color TV, a 12-CD changer with 10 speakers are also installed in this model.