This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:49 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2026.
With cease-fire talks between Ukraine and Russia underway, the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Restoration Agency) sent an official letter to the Korean government seeking cooperation on reconstruction projects, KOSDAQ-listed SG said. According to the company, the letter names SG and requests ways to strengthen cooperation.
On the 4th, according to SG, the Restoration Agency recently sent an official letter to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requesting follow-up measures to strengthen cooperation with SG. Ukraine appears to view cooperation with SG as an opportunity to tackle both the waste slag problem and infrastructure reconstruction.
According to the company, in the official letter the Restoration Agency said, "It is necessary to establish a continuous and efficient cooperation model regarding the memorandum of understanding on road reconstruction cooperation between the Restoration Agency and SG and the test paving in September 2025," and "We propose simplifying the entry procedures for Korean engineers and construction experts, and to continue the exchange of experience and information in the road and infrastructure institutional sector."
SG's ties with Ukraine began in 2023, when the war entered a prolonged phase. SG has technology for "Eco-Steel asphalt concrete," an asphalt concrete using slag instead of stone. It has the advantage of recycling waste slag while achieving superior strength to existing products and lowering production unit costs. At the time, SG conveyed its intent to cooperate on road restoration in Ukraine using Eco-Steel asphalt concrete technology, and later signed a strategic cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) through consultations with related institutions.
Accordingly, it has completed preliminary preparations, including establishing a local subsidiary and registering a patent for Eco-Steel asphalt concrete. It is known to have secured sites for three plants in Ukraine and is proceeding with licensing procedures. Last year, it carried out a test paving using Eco-Steel asphalt concrete on a road near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and it passed durability tests.
Behind Ukraine's need to cooperate with SG is a massive waste slag problem. Ukraine is well known as an agricultural country, but it is also one of Europe's leading steel industry powerhouses.
However, the waste slag from steelworks remains a headache. In Korea, it is possible to use waste slag for land reclamation projects or pay an expense to process it, but as a landlocked country, Ukraine faces limits in handling slag. From Ukraine's perspective, cooperation with SG is an opportunity to address the waste problem and proceed with infrastructure reconstruction.
SG also expects to benefit not only from postwar reconstruction projects but from infrastructure build-out tied to Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU). In July last year, the European Commission decided to provide 2.3 billion euros (about 4 trillion won) for Ukraine's infrastructure recovery and, through the "Ukraine Investment Framework," announced plans to provide 18 billion euros (about 31 trillion won). In addition, it is expected to be able to enter projects funded by Korea's official development assistance (ODA) to Ukraine.
The war between Ukraine and Russia, which began in 2022 and continues to this day, has recently seen rising prospects for a cease-fire. A second round of talks to discuss a cease-fire plan between Ukraine and Russia is underway in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), mediated by the United States. However, the two countries are said to have major differences over territorial allocation.