Hyundai Motor's Wonhyo-ro Headquarters Redevelopment Gains Momentum, Becomes UAM Hub

Seoul City Eases Land Use Restrictions on Hyundai Motor Wonhyo-ro Service Center Site
Future Food Research Institute for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to Be Established

Newly Designated Site for Hyundai Motor Company Wonhyo-ro Service Center in the District Unit Plan (Provided by Yongsan-gu)

[Asia Economy reporters Changhwan Lee and Hyemin Kim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has eased the usage restrictions on the site of Hyundai Motor's Wonhyo-ro Service Center. This is expected to boost not only the redevelopment of Hyundai Motor's Wonhyo-ro site but also research and development (R&D) for future projects such as Urban Air Mobility (UAM).

On the 30th, the Seoul City Urban and Architecture Joint Committee held the 12th authorized subcommittee meeting and announced on the 31st that the area around 114-36, Wonhyo-ro 4-ga, Yongsan-gu, has been newly designated as a district unit planning zone.

District unit planning is a system that rationalizes land use and enhances functions by strengthening or relaxing restrictions on usage or scale. Full-scale development can proceed only after the district unit plan is finalized.

The site is currently used as a Hyundai Motor service center. The city maintained the area as a Category 2 General Residential Zone but eased usage restrictions to allow the construction of research institutes and office facilities. Buildings in this district can be constructed up to a maximum height of seven floors.

With the approval of the district unit plan, Hyundai Motor is expected to build a large-scale urban-type future research center on this site, with up to five basement floors and seven above-ground floors, totaling approximately 67,000 square meters of floor area.

In particular, Hyundai Motor plans to utilize Yongsan as a key hub for UAM research and development, which is a core pillar of its future mobility business. UAM refers to next-generation mobility means such as drone taxis and robot taxis, directly overseen by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun.

Chairman Chung emphasized the importance of the UAM business at a 2019 employee meeting, stating, "50% of Hyundai Motor Group's future business will be automobiles, 30% UAM, and 20% robotics."

Accordingly, Hyundai Motor is focusing on pioneering the global UAM market by establishing a local subsidiary worth 200 billion KRW in Washington D.C., USA, and building a collaborative system with the city of Los Angeles. They are also working on a project to construct a dedicated UAM takeoff and landing airport in partnership with Urban Airport, a company in the Coventry area of West Midlands, UK.

By 2028, Hyundai Motor plans to launch a fully electrified UAM optimized for urban operation, and by 2030, release regional air mobility products connecting adjacent cities.

Domestically, the Wonhyo-ro research center to be constructed is expected to lead UAM research and development. To this end, Hyundai Motor is currently working on consolidating the UAM business units scattered across the Yangjae-dong headquarters and Namyang Research Center into the Wonhyo-ro building.

Support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government will also be strengthened. The city explained that it plans to utilize local contribution facilities within the research center as education and experience spaces necessary for UAM operation.

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