Jeong Eui-sun's Untact Management... Considering 'Video' Participation in Singapore Innovation Center Groundbreaking Ceremony

Considering a Video Meeting with Prime Minister Li Xianlong

Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chung Euisun is delivering a New Year's address at the 2020 Hyundai Motor Group Kick-off Ceremony held at Hyundai Motor Company headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Chung Euisun, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, is considering participating via video call in the groundbreaking ceremony of the 'Hyundai Mobility Global Innovation Centers (HMGICs)' to be held in Singapore on the 13th (local time). He also plans to arrange a video meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to conduct untact (non-face-to-face) private diplomatic activities.

According to industry sources on the 7th, Hyundai Motor will officially break ground on the construction of HMGICs, equipped with an electric vehicle pilot production line, in the Jurong industrial complex in western Singapore on the 13th. This project, which Hyundai Motor and the Singapore government have been working on for over two years to develop as an open innovation hub, aims to serve as a testbed for discovering and verifying new future mobility businesses. Although the completion was targeted for the second half of 2022, the groundbreaking was delayed by about five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so further delays are possible.

Chung’s determination to expand business in Singapore, which boasts the world's number one national innovation competitiveness, is firm. Although travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 situation prevent him from attending in person, his active participation via video call reflects his special affection for Singapore. It is reported that through the video call, Chung will also engage with Prime Minister Lee and other senior Singapore government officials to discuss cooperation plans for future new business projects.

Chung’s untact management approach is expected to expand further. When signing a business agreement last month with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 'Creating and Realizing Solutions for Sustainable Development,' Chung appeared online in person to sign the agreement and interact with partners. This sets a trend for new management styles led by the group head amid the prolonged COVID-19 phase.

The HMGICs, which Chung is deeply committed to, is a new testing ground to test and realize Hyundai Motor’s vision of the 'future.' It develops a human-centered intelligent manufacturing platform integrating artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and verifies it through a small-scale electric vehicle pilot production system. It also researches vehicle development technologies and customer order-based production systems linked to the intelligent manufacturing platform. It serves as an advanced base for innovative technologies covering the entire process from vehicle development to production and sales.

A Hyundai Motor official said, "The groundbreaking ceremony for the Singapore Innovation Center is being coordinated for as early as next week, but the exact schedule and attendees have not been confirmed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.