Mercedes-Benz Korea said on the 24th that at the "2025 Korea TechMaster Competition," it selected Seo A-seung, a technician at the Seongdong service center (Hansung Motor), as the top prize winner in the panel beating technician category.
The Korea TechMaster Competition, first launched in 2007, brings together technicians and service specialists from official service centers of 11 dealers nationwide to compete in job-specific competencies. This year, 1,001 people entered the preliminaries across the country, and 40 advanced to the finals to compete in a total of 10 job categories.
Seo, who joined as a Benz technician at 19 and works at the Seongdong service center, won the top prize this year after a third attempt. In the 2023 competition, senior colleague Seong Hyeok-je at the same service center also won the top prize.
Panel beating technicians play a key role in restoring damaged exterior sections of vehicles. Seo said the goal in every repair process is not simple restoration but "a structure more solid than before the accident," using genuine materials and precision measuring equipment.
Seo plans to keep building capabilities in line with vehicle materials and methods. Recently, the goal has been to obtain the qualification of "Mercedes-Benz certified aluminum body frame welding specialist," which is so demanding that only a handful in Korea hold it.
A Mercedes-Benz Korea official said, "Through the TechMaster competition, we are strengthening the expertise of on-site technical personnel and delivering customer satisfaction," adding, "The value of the brand's pursuit of top quality and trusted service continues at the fingertips of young technicians like Seo."