Kumho tires show up everywhere, from budget-friendly replacement sets to the original equipment on new cars, and the price is often low enough to make shoppers wonder who is behind them. Is Kumho Korean or Chinese? Is it a house brand for someone else? Are the tires on your car built in Asia or in Georgia?
The short answer is that Kumho Tire makes Kumho tires. It is a South Korean manufacturer with its own factories and engineering, but its controlling shareholder has been China’s Doublestar since 2018. This guide explains how that came about, where Kumho builds its tires today, what a major 2025 factory fire changed and how to tell where your own tires came from.
How this guide was put together: This guide is based on company announcements and trade coverage, with sources listed at the end. An earlier version cited a $450 million investment and OE customers we could not confirm; those details have been corrected. Checked on October 22, 2026.
Table of Contents
Kumho Tire at a Glance
Kumho Tire is a South Korean company founded in 1960 by Park In-chon under the name Samyang Tire. It later took the Kumho name and spent decades as part of the Kumho Asiana Group, a large Korean conglomerate that also had interests in aviation and other businesses. Today it reports annual revenue of roughly 4.7 trillion won and employs more than 10,000 people.
Kumho builds tires for passenger cars, SUVs, light trucks, commercial trucks and buses, and it supplies original equipment tires to automakers as well as replacement tires to retailers. Its best-known product families in the U.S. include the Ecsta performance line, the Solus touring line, the Crugen line for crossovers and SUVs, the Road Venture line for light trucks and the WinterCraft winter tires.
| Question | Short Answer |
|---|---|
| Who makes Kumho tires? | Kumho Tire Co., a South Korean tire manufacturer |
| Who controls Kumho? | China’s Doublestar, through a 45% stake acquired in 2018 |
| Where is Kumho based? | South Korea |
| How many tire plants? | Eight plants in four countries |
| Is there a U.S. plant? | Yes, in Macon, Georgia, since 2016 |
How Kumho Ended Up Under Chinese Control
Kumho’s change of ownership grew out of financial trouble at its former parent. In 2009, after the Kumho Asiana Group ran into a liquidity crunch, Kumho Tire was placed under a debt workout program overseen by its creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank.
The creditors eventually looked for a buyer, and in 2018 they found one in Doublestar, a tire maker based in Qingdao, China. Doublestar acquired a 45% stake in Kumho Tire for 646.3 billion won, and the deal was formally completed at a ceremony in Seoul on July 6, 2018. Doublestar made the purchase alongside several state-owned Qingdao investment groups, and the creditors led by the Korea Development Bank kept a 23% stake at the time.
The sale was not smooth, and Kumho’s unionized workers initially resisted it. In the end, the deal went through with Kumho continuing to run as a separate company with its own management, while Doublestar’s chairman, Chai Yongsen, joined the Kumho board.
Doublestar was candid about part of its motive. It wanted access to Kumho’s plants in South Korea, Vietnam and the United States to help it work around anti-dumping duties on tires made in China.
The 2026 Restructuring
The ownership chain was simplified in April 2026. The 45% stake had been held by an investment fund set up in 2018 with local Chinese investors. Qingdao Doublestar, the group’s listed company, acquired that entire fund for about 4.9 billion yuan, which means it now holds the 45% Kumho stake indirectly. Doublestar said the move was meant to address competition between companies inside its own group. For buyers, nothing about the tires changed, but it confirms that Kumho sits firmly within the Doublestar family.
Where Kumho Tires Are Made
Kumho operates eight tire plants across four countries. Before the 2025 fire described below, Kumho had been planning to raise its annual capacity to about 65 million tires.
| Country | Plant Locations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | Gwangju, Gokseong, Pyeongtaek | Gwangju was Kumho’s largest plant until a 2025 fire; a replacement plant is under construction in Hampyeong |
| China | Nanjing, Tianjin, Changchun | Mainly serve China and nearby export markets |
| Vietnam | Binh Duong Province | Opened in 2008 to serve Southeast Asia and export markets |
| United States | Macon, Georgia | Opened in 2016; passenger, high-performance and light commercial tires |
South Korea
Korea remains the center of the company. Kumho runs plants in Gwangju, Gokseong and Pyeongtaek, and since the 2025 fire, Gokseong has also been supplying rubber and semi-finished components to keep Gwangju running.
China
Kumho’s Chinese plants in Nanjing, Tianjin and Changchun primarily serve the Chinese market. The Tianjin plant carries some history: in 2011, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that it had used excessive amounts of recycled rubber. Kumho initially denied the report, then apologized and recalled the affected tires.
Vietnam
The plant in Binh Duong Province opened in 2008. It supplies Southeast Asian markets and also gives Kumho a production base outside both Korea and China.
Inside the Macon, Georgia, Plant
Kumho’s first North American factory held its official opening on May 2, 2016. The plant started with capacity of about 4 million tires a year, with plans to grow toward 10 million. It builds passenger car, ultra-high-performance and light commercial tires, including run-flat tires, in 17-inch and larger sizes.
The plant was built with the automakers of the American Southeast in mind. At its opening, Kumho expected around 80% of its output to go to original equipment customers, with trade coverage at the time naming Hyundai, Kia and Chrysler. In 2021, Kumho announced a $21.8 million expansion that added about 500,000 tires a year of capacity.
What that means for you: if your new car rolled off an assembly line in the Southeast on Kumho tires, there is a reasonable chance they came from Georgia. Replacement Kumhos sold at a tire shop may come from Macon, Korea, Vietnam or China depending on the model and size.
Kumho is a Korean company controlled by a Chinese shareholder, and it builds tires in Korea, China, Vietnam and the United States. The plant code on the sidewall tells you which one built your tire.
The 2025 Gwangju Fire and What Comes Next
On May 17, 2025, a major fire broke out at Kumho’s Gwangju complex, its largest tire factory. The site could produce about 12 million tires a year, close to 20% of Kumho’s global capacity, including passenger, truck and bus, and aviation tires. Production was suspended, and firefighters needed more than a day to bring the main blaze under control.
The fire struck the plant’s second production building, known as Gwangju Plant 2. Kumho’s response has two parts.
- Short term: Kumho set out to upgrade the undamaged Gwangju Plant 1 to about 6,000 tires a day by the end of 2025, with Gokseong and outside suppliers temporarily providing rubber and semi-finished parts.
- Long term: Kumho is building a new plant in the Bitgreen Industrial Complex in Hampyeong, about 25 miles southwest of Gwangju. The first phase is planned at 5.3 million tires a year, with construction expected to finish by the end of 2027 and full operation starting in January 2028. In a second phase, Plant 1 operations will move to Hampyeong and the Gwangju site will be sold.
Kumho has not broken out the effect on U.S. supply, but with a large share of its capacity offline, some sizes may be harder to find while production is rebalanced among its other plants.
Is Kumho a Chinese Tire?
Not in the way most shoppers mean it. Kumho is a Korean company, headquartered and engineered in Korea, with a Chinese controlling shareholder. Some Kumho tires are built in China, but others come from Korea, Vietnam and Georgia.
Ownership also says little about the quality of a specific tire. Every tire sold in the United States must meet the same federal safety standards, and automakers that fit Kumho tires as original equipment set their own requirements on top of that. Judge a Kumho by the model’s performance and the needs of your vehicle, just as you would any other brand. For context on how Kumho and Doublestar compare in size with their rivals, see our look at the biggest tire manufacturers in the world.
How to Check Where Your Kumho Was Built
The plant code is part of the DOT number molded into the sidewall of every tire sold in the U.S.
- Locate the letters DOT on the sidewall. If the code looks incomplete, check the other side of the tire.
- Note the two or three characters immediately after DOT. That is the plant code.
- Enter the code in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Manufacturer Information Database, filtering for tire equipment plants, to see the factory and country.
- Read the last four digits for the build week and year.
If buying American matters to you, ask the retailer to check the code on the tires in stock. Our guide to which tires are made in the USA covers other brands with domestic production.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kumho Tire is a South Korean company. Since 2018, its controlling shareholder has been Doublestar, a tire maker from Qingdao, China, which holds a 45% stake. Kumho continues to operate with its own management.
Doublestar controls Kumho through a 45% stake acquired in 2018. Since April 2026, that stake has been held indirectly by Qingdao Doublestar, the group’s listed company.
Some are. Kumho has built tires in Macon, Georgia, since 2016, including passenger, high-performance and light commercial tires in 17-inch and larger sizes. Many Kumho tires sold in the U.S. are imported from Korea, Vietnam or China.
Not as an owner. Kumho Tire left the Kumho Asiana Group’s control after its 2009 debt workout and the 2018 sale of a controlling stake to Doublestar, though it kept the Kumho name.
It may have in some sizes. The fire shut down Kumho’s largest plant in Gwangju, which had represented close to 20% of its global capacity. Kumho has been shifting production to other plants and is building a new factory in Hampyeong scheduled for full operation in January 2028.
Yes. Kumho supplies original equipment tires to major automakers, which require tires to meet their own standards, and every Kumho sold in the U.S. must meet federal safety rules. Quality varies by model, so compare the specific tire for your vehicle rather than relying on the brand alone.
Final Word on Who Makes Kumho
Kumho tires are made by Kumho Tire, a Korean manufacturer with more than six decades of history, eight plants in four countries and a U.S. factory in Macon, Georgia. Since 2018, China’s Doublestar has controlled the company, a relationship that tightened with the 2026 restructuring. The 2025 Gwangju fire forced a reshuffle of production that will play out through the opening of the Hampyeong plant in 2028.
None of that changes how you should shop. Choose the Kumho model that fits your car and driving, and if origin matters, read the plant code after DOT on the sidewall before the tires are mounted.
Sources
Specs, warranty terms and prices were checked on October 22, 2026. Prices change often.
- Tire Review: Kumho opens first US facility in Georgia (May 2 opening, 4 million tires a year, OE customers)
- MBT: Georgia tire plant plans $22M expansion ($21.8 million, about 500,000 tires a year (2021))
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