Home > Business > Industry

'Like spotting an undiscovered, fertile land': Israeli magnate on his love of Korea

Published: 06 Dec. 2024, 17:49 Updated: 08 Dec. 2024, 15:45

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Ray Shipping Group Chairman Abraham Ungar speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Abraham Ungar, chairman of the Israel-based Ray Shipping Group, has “fallen in love” with Korea, a connection built on trust that has deepened over the past three decades.

Since his first visit to the nation during the summer of 1993, the 77-year-old magnate in the automotive and shipping industries has established deep-rooted ties with Korean conglomerates like Hyundai Motor, SsangYong Motor, HD Hyundai and the now-dissolved Daewoo Group which have played pivotal roles in shaping Korea’s economic transformation into a developed nation.

The affection that he feels for the country has been reflected in the numbers: through his companies, Ray Shipping and Talkar — Israel’s third-largest vehicle importer — he has ordered 45 car carriers and 550,000 finished vehicles. The total value of these ship orders amounts to $3.68 billion, while his purchases of vehicles and parts total $7.13 billion.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, poses with Ray Shipping Group Chairman Abraham Ungar who is the recipient of the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit at the 61st Trade Day Awards ceremony held in southern Seoul on Thursday. [INDUSTRY MINISTRY]

In recognition of his significant role in fostering trade and economic cooperation, Ungar was honored with the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, the highest honor for a businessman active in Korea, at the 61st Trade Day Awards ceremony on Thursday.

He is the first foreign recipient of this prestigious award.

“[Coming to Korea] was like spotting an undiscovered, fertile land,” Ungar reminisced during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Wednesday in central Seoul.

The year 1993 was the following year when the diplomatic and economic ties between Korea and Israel gained renewed momentum, influenced by the shifting geopolitical landscape after the Cold War.

Ungar initially forged business ties with what was then known as Daewoo Motors, placing an accumulative order of 60,000 vehicles to be imported to the Israeli market until 2002.

Daewoo Motors was labeled as the first Korean auto company to export its cars to Israel.

The business spread over to SsangYong Motor and Kia, each having exported 10,000 and 430,000 vehicles and auto parts to Israel through Talkar.

“What I find so appealing to me, it’s the loyalty and a very close relationship I had both with Kia and with the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries,” he said. “And I must say that we worked in good times and in the bad times, always together, hand by hand.”

A factor that drew the business tycoon to Korea is the war-torn history and the tendency for survival that Korea and Israel both share. However, Ungar has always been “jealous” of Korea, he says.

“Korea is a very diligent, hardworking nation, and whilst we [Israel] think we are the best, I think that we have to learn that from you a lot,” he said.

“I tell you, it’s like to fall in love with somebody. You fall in love with the personality, with the character, and the character of your nation is to fight. It’s to never give up.”

In the shipbuilding industry, Ungar has expanded business relations with HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding affiliates, continuing to procure orders on HD Hyundai Mipo even during the industry’s downcycle after the 2008 global financial crisis.

Ray Shipping Group Chairman Abraham Ungar speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The chairman believes in the credibility of relationships, whether it was formed through business or personal, which is why he chose to continue to do deals with Korean companies rather than Chinese ones, which has since then been quickly catching up in the industry.

“To develop trust is to be together for all four seasons of the year," and once those seasons have passed, trust is fostered Ungar said. "In Korea, I find past, present and the future,” a quality that Ungar says is growing scarce.

“Car carriers are a very difficult ship to build because, unlike other vessels like container carriers or tankers, they are similar to passenger ships.

“They need multiple floors to create parking spaces for cars, focusing more on the volume and area rather than weight.”

While China has become an emerging player in the shipbuilding industry, Ungar still believes that Korean companies are maintaining a quality edge.

“The gap [between China and Korea] per ship is about 25 percent and I’m ready to pay because I think I get better quality. And because in the long run, the day-to-day operation costs of Korean products are lower at least by $1,000. Car carrier businesses, we are long-term players that sign 10 to 15 years of charter contracts. In the long run, I believe I’m right although in the immediate moment, I pay much more.”

Although the chairman hopes to continue relations with Korean shipbuilders, the impending leadership of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump might paint a different scenario than what he hopes for.

“I suspect that when Mr. Trump comes to office, he will want to increase the strength of the American Navy. America does not have the capacity to build [more] ships so it will ask Korea to build military ships for America,” Ungar perceived, adding that Korean companies might prioritize defense contracts over commercial ships in the future.

On average, Ungar visits Korea three to four times a year on business and has developed personal relationships with conglomerate chiefs such as former Daewoo Chairman Kim Woo-joong and Hyundai Motor Chairman Euisun Chung.

“With Chairman Kim Woo-joong, we were very good friends,” he said, explaining that a true friendship is measured by the bad times, and with Kim, a 15-year-long camaraderie had blossomed before he passed away in 2019.

Ungar recalled of Kim’s struggles, including his exile overseas to avoid imprisonment to his eventual return to Korea, where he served a prison sentence under accounting fraud.

“I visited him during his imprisonment,” Ungar reminisced. “I remember that the warden there made me coffee. Chairman Kim was a fantastic man, he really was.”

The chairman also praised Chung for his visionary approach, including Hyundai’s diversification into robotics and air taxis alongside traditional auto manufacturing.

Hyundai Cradle, a global innovation hub of Hyundai Motor that has five branches including one in Tel Aviv, Israel, has formed a technological partnership with Talkar to collaborate on proof-of-concept projects for future mobilities to be locally adapted in the region.

“He [Chung] is looking into the future, a prophet — a face of a young leader of Korea.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]