Strengthening Economic Cooperation Between Indonesia and South Korea in the Post-Pandemic Era

Seoul, INTI – Economic cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea continues to strengthen in the post-pandemic era. South Korea's investments in Indonesia include the development of Hyundai automobile factories, the construction of petrochemical plants by Lotte Chemical, and a commitment to build a steel industry cluster with a capacity of 10 million tons by 2025.

During his working visit to South Korea, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with Hyundai Motor Group CEO Euisun Chung and commended Hyundai's active involvement in various global hydrogen projects, starting from Indonesia with Waste-to-Hydrogen, to utilizing local community waste.

"I appreciate Hyundai's efforts in actively implementing HTWO (H2) network solutions. This will not only benefit Indonesia but also the ASEAN market in the long run, as hydrogen can play a crucial role in driving carbon neutrality movements and economic development," stated Minister Airlangga in Seoul on Monday (20/05).

To support the development of Hyundai's hydrogen projects, it is planned to collaborate with the Indonesian state-owned enterprise Pertamina. The Indonesian government is currently accelerating the development of electric vehicles (EVs) in Indonesia through the formulation of an EV development roadmap, providing various incentives, and developing the EV ecosystem in Indonesia.

"Hyundai is also a proficient electric vehicle manufacturer, so we encourage Hyundai to enhance capacity for MSMEs or local suppliers, or Indonesian engineers to master EV matters, not only for cars but also engines, as well as derivatives such as charging stations, and to involve local suppliers around its factories," said Minister Airlangga.

In addition to accelerating EV development, the Indonesian government is also pushing for the energy transition from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly energy such as solar and geothermal energy, low-carbon technology development, energy efficiency, and the development of alternative energy sources, such as hydrogen for vehicles.

The Indonesian government is also pushing for several agreements reached at previous Joint Committee Meetings on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) supported by Hyundai, such as Hyundai Motor's investment in Indonesian electric vehicles (complete car factory, joint battery cell factory, battery pack factory, etc.).

Hyundai is currently constructing a battery plant to produce electric vehicles equipped with Indonesian battery cells in 2024. The construction of the battery cell factory is being carried out in Karawang, West Java, in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution, which will commence commercial production in the third quarter of 2024.

During this occasion, Hyundai's Chairman also invited the Economic Affairs Minister to the grand opening ceremony of the battery cell plant and mass production of KONA electric cars in Bekasi, West Java, in June 2024.