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Infrastructure-based autonomous driving startup Seoul Robotics has hired a financial expert from Hyundai Motor Group as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This move appears to be aimed at strengthening its finance line amid challenges in the IPO (initial public offering) process, including the company's voluntary withdrawal of its listing application.
Seoul Robotics announced on the 20th that it has appointed former Hyundai Motor Group Singapore Global Innovation Center (HMGICS) CFO Sang-gil Woo as Executive Vice President and CFO. Woo, who served in key roles related to cost management and finance at Hyundai Motor Group for 16 years, led the design of business structures and financial strategies for HMGICS, the group's first overseas innovation hub.
Notably, he is recognized for leading large-scale early-stage investment fundraising and capital raising efforts. He was also the first in the industry to introduce a smart factory cost management system optimized for cell manufacturing methods, achieving both production innovation and cost reduction simultaneously.
Additionally, he built initial cost systems for Hyundai Motor's Gwangju Global Motors (GGM) project and spent 10 years at Hyundai Motor's Asan plant managing costs and improving profitability, gaining deep expertise in overall manufacturing financial management.
Through this appointment, Seoul Robotics plans to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous driving solutions within global vehicle assembly plants. The company explained that with Woo's addition, who has a profound understanding of large OEM (original equipment manufacturer) development frameworks, quality requirements, and production systems, it can now build roadmaps tailored to customer expectations.
Woo will be responsible for designing financial strategies to expand global hubs in Japan, Europe, the United States, and other regions, as well as overseeing cost structure optimization driven by scaling up production capacity.
Lee Han-bin, CEO of Seoul Robotics, stated, "Executive Vice President Woo is a proven leader who built overseas innovation hubs from scratch and introduced smart factory systems validated by Navy Headquarters." He added, "He is the right person to drive mid-to-long-term growth, including the commercialization of autonomous driving solutions currently underway in global automotive factories, as well as establishing overseas offices and securing profitability."
Woo said, "Based on accumulated expertise in commercializing innovative technologies and financial experience, I will contribute to Seoul Robotics leading the global market. We will strengthen our internal foundations to ensure the company's solid and sustainable growth."
Meanwhile, Seoul Robotics holds technology that enables unmanned autonomous driving through infrastructure sensors in controlled environments such as factories and ports. Based on eight years of accumulated industrial site data, stable autonomous driving is possible even in severe weather conditions. According to the company, one operator can complete the movement of 50 vehicles in just 6–7 minutes, a task that previously required five skilled drivers working for an hour, reducing logistics costs by up to 50%.
[MoneyToday startup media platform Unicorn Factory]
in FUTURE
