KT-Hyundai Heavy, Share Collaboration Achievements at Business Cooperation General Meeting

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo and Hyundai Heavy Vice President Jung Ki-sun
Strengthen Commitment to Digital Innovation Collaboration

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 18th, KT held the 'Business Cooperation Committee General Meeting' with Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and shared the results of five months of collaboration. In June, the two companies signed a comprehensive business cooperation agreement combining 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies with manufacturing capabilities in the fields of intelligent service robots and smart factories.

On this day, KT and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group met at the Hyundai Robotics Robot Logistics System Demo Center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, reaffirming their commitment to 'digital innovation' collaboration. KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo said, “Collaborating with Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which has global-level competitiveness in manufacturing, robotics, and logistics, is an opportunity for KT to transform into a digital platform company,” adding, “KT will play a decisive role for companies pursuing ‘untact innovation’ by developing diverse digital transformation (DX) solutions together with Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.” Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Vice Chairman Jung Ki-sun said, “We will create a new turning point in the overall logistics system based on digital innovation,” and “We will actively strive to continue sustainable cooperation in various fields to generate greater synergy.”

Earlier in June, KT invested 50 billion KRW in Hyundai Robotics, a robot business subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries, securing a 10% stake. They also strengthened their ICT collaboration relationship, known as the 'robot alliance.' Since then, they have continued cooperation for digital innovation, starting with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 5G-based robot and smart factory business collaboration. Hyundai Heavy Industries also participated in the ‘AI One Team’ launched under KT’s leadership. This alliance between the 9th-ranked manufacturing conglomerate and the 12th-ranked ICT company in the business world has been recognized as a new milestone in ICT ‘super collaboration.’

Meanwhile, the Business Cooperation Committee showcased various ICT technology demonstrations. In the robot and smart factory fields, they demonstrated the KT smart factory platform and reviewed progress on food and beverage (F&B) serving robots, cleaning and patrol robots jointly developed by the two companies. They also confirmed the implementation of smart hospital solutions and the development status of an unmanned forklift platform capable of remote control and management. In the shipbuilding and heavy industries sector, an augmented reality (AR) remote inspection solution was introduced. Additionally, a digital twin logistics center for logistics platform innovation was presented. Presentations on unmanned patrol control systems and building control models followed. Notably, the Robot Logistics System Demo Center, which integrates KT and Hyundai Heavy Industries’ smart logistics solutions, showcased robots stacking or moving goods (smart palletizing robots) and quickly locating and shipping items for individual orders (3D shuttle applying robot picking).

A KT official stated, “With the spread of untact (non-face-to-face) due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), more companies are seeking to introduce robots and transform logistics systems. In this situation, KT and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group will strengthen collaboration to accelerate digital innovation.”

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