"The year 2007 will serve as a turning point for South Korea's carmakers," Han told a meeting of government and car industry officials in southern Seoul.

"In 2007 auto production within South Korea will reach four million, while that outside the country will amount to one million," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the nation's two largest automakers, operate factories in the United States, Eastern Europe, China and other Asian nations.