Senior executives of Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group are organizing an unusual executive exchange event to strengthen partnerships in various fields, including vehicle components (electronic components) and robotics. Analysts assess that the relationship between the two companies—once strained when Samsung entered the automobile industry in the 1990s and withdrew in 2000—is evolving into a close cooperative relationship in the era of electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and physical artificial intelligence (AI).

● Event hosted by Samsung–Hyundai Motor vice chairs

According to the industry on the 8th, Samsung will host a “Thank You Day” event on the afternoon of the 9th at “The Universe,” Samsung Electronics’ training center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, inviting key executives and officers of Hyundai Motor and Kia. The event will be presided over by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun and Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, and a total of about 170 participants are expected to attend, including presidents and their spouses from affiliates of both groups. The event will be held in the late afternoon of the 9th, followed by networking time, a performance, and a dinner.

This event has been prepared by Samsung Electronics to express appreciation to Hyundai Motor Group, with which it has maintained cooperation in various areas such as vehicle components, semiconductors, and batteries, and is known to have been proposed by Samsung to Hyundai. Although Samsung has previously held networking events inviting multiple partner companies, this is the first time it has held an exchange event inviting the management of a specific group.

Attendees from Samsung at the event on the 9th will include, in addition to Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, Samsung Electronics CEO Roh Tae-moon and presidents of several Samsung affiliates that have supplied batteries and vehicle components to Hyundai Motor Group. These include Samsung SDI CEO Choi Joo-sun, Samsung Electro-Mechanics CEO Jang Deok-hyun, and Samsung Display CEO Lee Chung-ho. From Hyundai Motor Group, Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor Global President and COO José Muñoz, and Hyundai Motor and Kia R&D Division President Manfred Harrer are expected to attend.

● Broad-based cooperation from mobility to physical AI

After Samsung entered the automobile market in the 1990s and withdrew in 2000, the supply of Hyundai Motor parts by Samsung affiliates remained limited. The cooperative relationship between the two companies is considered to have expanded in earnest from 2020. In 2020, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun made a surprise visit to Samsung SDI’s Cheonan plant, followed by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visiting Hyundai Motor’s Namyang R&D Center, firing the starting gun for battery cooperation between the two companies. Subsequently, in 2023, Hyundai Motor signed its first battery supply contract with Samsung SDI and announced cooperation with Samsung Electronics in the in-vehicle infotainment sector. The supply contract concluded at that time bore fruit this year. Samsung SDI has supplied batteries this year for Hyundai’s “IONIQ 3,” Kia’s “EV2,” and Genesis’ sport utility vehicle (SUV) “GV90.”

Close cooperation is also expected to continue in robotics going forward. Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Samsung SDI signed a joint development memorandum of understanding last year for battery development, known as the “heart” of robots, and began developing high-output batteries required for robots. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is seen as highly likely to supply the camera modules serving as the “eyes” of Atlas, the humanoid robot of Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics specialist company, as well as multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs).

Chae Sang-mi, professor of business administration at Ewha Womans University, said, “Given that both groups have clear strengths, this is expected to help Korea maintain its hegemony in mobility and robotics, sectors that are being reorganized around the United States and China.”

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