Toyota's previous involvement in the South Korean auto market began in 1966, when it entered into a joint venture with Shinjin Motors to produce localized versions of cars such as Toyota Corona.
The joint venture ended in 1972, due to Toyota's desire to enter the mainland Chinese market—the People's Republic of China at the time having prohibited companies operating in South Korea and Taiwan from operating in mainland China as well.
[1] After establishing a local subsidiary in March 2000, Toyota first launched the Lexus brand in 2001.
Through the mid-2000s, Lexus experienced sales successes in South Korea, becoming the top-selling import make in that markets in 2005.
However, in order to meet the diversifying needs of users in South Korea, where the market for imported cars from Japan such as Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Honda is growing rapidly, Toyota Motor Korea decided to introduce the Toyota brand in addition to Lexus, and opened each showroom on October 20, 2009.