KAIA "Urgent Need for Digital Transformation in Automobile Parts Manufacturing"

"Need for Workforce Attraction Measures Alongside Industrial Transition"

Gang Nam-hoon, Chairman of the Automobile Mobility Industry Association, is giving a greeting speech at the 36th Automobile Mobility Industry Development Forum held at the Automobile Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 18th. (Photo by Automobile Mobility Industry Association)

Automotive-related organizations gathered to discuss ways to enhance the competitiveness of the automotive parts industry.

The Korea Automotive Mobility Industry Association (KAIA) held the 36th Automotive Mobility Industry Development Forum on the 18th at the Automobile Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Digital Transformation Strategy to Enhance Competitiveness of the Parts Industry." KAIA is a coalition of 11 organizations, including the Korea Automotive Mobility Industry Association, Korea Automobile Industry Cooperative, Automotive Parts Industry Promotion Foundation, Korea Automotive Research Institute, Korean Society of Automotive Engineers, Hydrogen Convergence Alliance, Korea Autonomous Driving Industry Association, Korea Electric Vehicle Industry Association, Hyundai-Kia Cooperation Association, Korea GM Cooperation Association, and KG Mobility Cooperative.

Kang Nam-hoon, chairman of KAIA, stated, "The automotive industry achieved a record-high export amount of $93.8 billion last year and secured the top trade balance among all export items, establishing itself as a strong pillar of the national economy. However, with the strengthening of protectionist policies centered on domestic industries in the US and Europe and the rapid overseas expansion of China, export competition is becoming fiercer." He emphasized, "To adapt to the paradigm shift in the automotive industry, including electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and software-defined vehicles (SDV), and to foster the growth of parts companies, digital transformation is necessary in various fields, including smart manufacturing on the production floor."

At the event, presentations were given on topics such as ▲Digital transformation promotion strategies for automotive parts companies (Lee Chan-hyung, director of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Promotion Team, Ministry of SMEs and Startups) ▲Trends in manufacturing and industrial innovation in major countries and implications for Korea (Oh Yoon-hwan, head of the New Industry Strategy Research Group, Science and Technology Policy Institute) ▲Human resource development plans for digital transformation (Lee Hang-gu, director of Jeonbuk Automotive Convergence Technology Institute).

Through this, Director Lee emphasized, "To effectively respond to changes in the automotive industry ecosystem expressed by C.A.S.E (Connectivity, Autonomous driving, Sharing, Electrification), it is necessary for SMEs to innovate their manufacturing systems, specifically by building and adopting smart factories."

Director Oh explained, "In the trend of digital transformation and the spread of smart manufacturing, to secure national and industrial competitiveness and sustainable growth, it is necessary to create an environment where medium-sized and small enterprises can continue to grow. We should be cautious of strategies that focus excessively on digital information and communication technology (ICT) due to digital transformation, as this may cause us to lose our strengths, and instead invest in the advancement of manufacturing."

Director Lee analyzed, "Digitalization for improving production efficiency in the domestic automotive industry is relatively slower compared to electrification, so digitalization can be evaluated as a lever to promote the spread of future mobility through production cost reduction." He added, "The relatively sluggish industrial transition of the domestic automotive parts industry is due to a shortage of related personnel. To solve this, detailed support policies and various educational programs are needed."

Following this, a discussion was held chaired by Lee Ki-hyung, vice president of Hanyang University. Panelists included Jeon Jong-geun, professor of International Business at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Kim Kyung-yu, director of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, and Director Oh Yoon-seok.