Hanwha establishes fresh subsidiary as robot race intensifies

Tech

Published: 05 Oct. 2023, 19:00

Hanwha establishes fresh subsidiary as robot race intensifies

Kim Dong-seon, managing director of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, tests the performance of the Hanwha Robotics' collaborative robot at the Hanwha R&D Center located in Seongnam, southern Gyeonggi. [HANWHA ROBOTICS]

Hanwha Corporation launched Hanwha Robotics on Wednesday, a robotics subsidiary, becoming the latest Korean conglomerate to set its sights on the burgeoning industry.

Kim Dong-seon, managing director at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts and the third son of the Hanwha Corporation Chairman, is in charge of devising key strategies.

Hanwha Robotics will focus on the development of collaborative robots and automated vehicles. The unit spun off from Hanwha Corporation's business division Momentum. Seo Jong-hwi, formerly a director at Hanwha Corporation, has been appointed the CEO of Hanwha Robotics.

With Kim's management involvement, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts will own a 32 percent stake in Hanwha Robotics and the remaining shares will be held by Hanwha Corporation. The ownership structure hints at the possibility of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts using the collaborative robots manufactured by the new company for maintaining facilities and preparing food.

“Robots will be a core business that contributes to the improvement of people’s lives,” said Kim Dong-seon, the managing head of the strategy planning division of the new company.

Major corporations like Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and HD Hyundai have all thrown their hats into the ring, investing large sums of money into robotics startups.

“Samsung Electronics plans to invest 240 trillion won ($177 billion) into emerging business sectors for the future, mainly including robots and artificial intelligence,” Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong said back in 2021.

Samsung bought a nearly 15 percent share of Rainbow Robotics this year, a local robot developer. Samsung Electronics and Rainbow Robotics struck an options contract that grants Samsung the right to buy up to 59.94 percent of shares of Rainbow Robotics.

“Hyundai Motor’s robotic vision will enable the infinite progress of humanity,” said Hyundai Motor Group Chair Euisun Chung. Hyundai Motor Group purchased 80 percent of Boston Dynamics, a globally-renowned, U.S.-based robotic engineering company.

LG Electronics continues to expand in the robotics sphere with its “CLOi” product line. LG has also made investments in domestic industrial robot manufacturers such as Robotis.

Park Ji-won, vice chairman of Doosan, second from the left, talks at the Automatica booth after observing the performance of a collaborative robot manufactured by Doosan Robotics in Munich, Germany. [DOOSAN]

Doosan Robotics, a major player in the collaborative robot market in Korea, garnered keen interest from institutional and individual investors when it debuted on the stock market on Thursday.

HD Hyundai Robotics stands as the largest player in Korea's industrial robot market. HD Hyundai set up a team devoted to robotics business in 1984.

BY KIM SU-MIN [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]