Sharing of automotive and IT technology trends and technical information, Discussion on the future of the automotive industry
Approximately 300 attendees from the automotive, electronics, IT industries and the general public participated

At the 2017 Seoul Motor Show, a seminar was held where automotive and IT experts gathered to examine the future of the automotive industry.

The seminar on "Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of the Automotive Industry," jointly hosted by the Seoul Motor Show Organizing Committee and the Korea Electronics and Information & Communications Industry Promotion Association, was held with attendance from the automotive industry, electronic IT industry, and the general public.

Lee Bo-sung, Director of Hyundai Motor Group Global Management Institute, said, "In the face of the fourth industrial revolution, the automotive industry is undergoing disruptive innovation in all sectors," adding, "While in the past we focused on producing automobiles and selling them, in the future we will receive customer orders at smart factories to produce autonomous electric vehicles, and expand the essence of the business to become a mobility solutions provider through car-sharing businesses and other ventures."



Kim Beom-jun, Senior Research Fellow at LG Economic Research Institute, then stated, "The most important element in the fourth industrial revolution is convergence between different industries, and eco-friendly vehicles and autonomous vehicles, which are core technological elements of the future automotive industry, will develop through convergence with electronics and chemical technologies." He further predicted that "through these changes, the existing vertical industrial structure between complete vehicle manufacturers and parts suppliers will transform into a horizontal cooperative relationship."

Ha Ho-seon, Chief Executive Officer of Korea Car Sharing, said, "Future automobiles will be connected with various devices to establish an ecosystem for the automotive mobility era as an organic entity," and explained that "as autonomous vehicles led by IT companies such as Google and Apple and complete vehicle manufacturers become activated, automobiles will evolve from current hardware-oriented means of transportation into software-oriented moving high-performance artificial intelligence, robots, and computers."

Kang Hyung-jin, Executive Managing Director of Mando Central Research Institute, introduced aggressive semiconductor-related mergers and acquisitions for market preemption of autonomous vehicles and connected cars both domestically and internationally, along with development status of connected cars based on next-generation 5G mobile communication technology and expansion of OEM-led strategic partnerships. He further emphasized that in response to the rapidly changing technological environment, there is a need to establish a strategic cooperation ecosystem among domestic complete vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers, semiconductor companies, and ICT companies.

Lee Jong-hwa, Professor at Ajou University, explained, "The automotive industry is facing 'hyper-connectivity and hyper-intelligence,' where eco-friendly vehicles lead to the generalization of smart cars including autonomous vehicles and connected cars." He also stated that for sustained growth and development of Korea's automotive industry, based on mechanical engineering and passing through the third industrial revolution era of digital transformation, it is necessary to develop human resource strategies and workforce development plans suited to the new paradigm.