SK Rent-a-Car to invest ￦100B to build hub in Dangjin

SK Rent-a-Car CEO Hwang Il-moon, right, poses for a photo with Dangjin Mayor Oh Seong-hwan to celebrate the investment in the city on Monday. [SK RENT-A-CAR]

SK Rent-a-Car announced Monday it will invest 100 billion won ($69.8 million) to build an automotive hub in Dangjin, South Chungcheong.

The center will be built on a 100,000-pyeong (330,580-square-foot) plot of land, which the car rental company will buy from Sejong Investment & Development Corporation for 56.1 billion won.

Construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2024.

The automotive hub will be able to park around 10,000 vehicles to be rented. There will be various facilities for vehicle maintenance, repair and washing. Electric vehicle charging stations will be built, which will also be able to charge up to 10,000 vehicles.

Of the total area, a 20,000-pyeong plot of land will be reserved for a park and various leisure facilities.

SK Rent-a-Car says it chose to build the automotive hub in the city because of its location near the Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port and Hyundai Motor’s vehicle yard in Asan, South Chungcheong, which will make vehicle deliveries faster. It is also close to the Seohaean Expressway that connects Mokpo in South Jeolla to Seoul, which will allow cars to be delivered to customers in the greater Seoul area in approximately one hour.

“The automotive hub that will be built in Dangjin is just a start to many innovations for our business models,” said Hwang Il-moon, CEO of SK Rent-a-Car. “We will enhance customer service by improving efficiency and make the center a new landmark for Dangjin to help boost the local economy.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]