Domestic mid-sized corporations have begun to strengthen new business initiatives. Their plan is to shift focus to new ventures after achieving results in their core operations to continue their growth. The businesses include electric vehicle dealerships, waste battery recycling, and AI agriculture, among others.
According to the industry on the 28th, energy corporation Samchuly Group has entered the electric vehicle dealership business in China.
Samchuly Group, which established Samchuly EV last year, will sell the Chinese electric vehicle BYD, which has entered the domestic market. They signed an official dealership contract with BYD Korea in December last year and opened a BYD showroom on the 17th.
Samchuly Group aims to create a wave of Chinese electric vehicles in the domestic market, drawing from its experience operating Samchuly Motors, an official BMW dealer. BYD has gained immense popularity, becoming the world's number one in sales last year, surpassing Tesla in the global electric vehicle market.
Samchuly EV plans to sell various BYD electric vehicles in the future, starting with the 'Atto 3,' a compact electric sport utility vehicle that BYD is launching in Korea for the first time. They are currently accepting pre-orders, with deliveries expected in February.
The automotive industry is paying close attention to how the Atto 3, priced in the late 20 million won range, equipped with its competitive pricing strategy, will alter the landscape of the domestic electric vehicle market.
Mid-sized construction corporation IS Dongseo has begun to strengthen its competitiveness in the new waste battery recycling business. The new plant in Poland, a European battery recycling specialist acquired in 2023, is set to begin operations in the second quarter of 2025.
Located near the German border in the Oswiecim region of Poland, the dedicated waste battery pre-treatment plant covers 10,000 square meters (with a total land area of 50,000 square meters) and has the capacity to process 12,000 tons (up to 24,000 tons) of waste batteries annually. This is equivalent to approximately 50,000 vehicles (up to 100,000 vehicles) in electric vehicle terms. The plant has been completed and is currently undergoing trial operations.
Through this, IS Dongseo plans to target not only Europe but also the rapidly growing global waste battery market. According to market research firm SNE Research, the global waste battery market is projected to expand to 20 trillion won by 2030 and 600 trillion won by 2050.
Daedong, the leading agricultural machinery corporation in Korea, is actively pursuing its 'precision agriculture' business. The plan is to grow beyond manufacturing tractors and other agricultural machinery into an agricultural solutions corporation.
Daedong's precision agriculture service analyzes crop growth, soil conditions, and pests in real-time using technologies such as big data and AI to provide optimal solutions for fertilizers, water, and labor. This can maximize production.
Last year, Daedong entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Rice and Bean Farming Association to provide precision agriculture solutions as consulting to 12 rice and bean farming households nationwide. As a result, these farms reduced fertilizer use by 7% while increasing their harvests by about 6.9% compared to neighboring farms.
This year, Daedong plans to fully implement precision agriculture services in Korea. Won Yu-hyun, CEO of Daedong, noted that they plan to introduce AI-based precision agriculture solutions to the domestic market while also expanding into overseas markets.