Market for EV charging stations in South Korea has high growth potential

28. September 2023

With the increasing number of EVs in South Korea, the market for corresponding charging stations is also growing. Therefore, many large companies are entering the field of charging stations and infrastructure, some of them even with only this main business. As the business magazine “Business Korea” writes, almost all major domestic companies are now active in the EV charging business. Apart from Samsung, South Korea’s four largest conglomerates have entered the market, either by acquiring companies or providing their own services. In many cases, products from the fields of batteries and electromobility in general require KC Certification for Korea in order to be approved for import and sale there.

SK Group is the most active group and has several subsidiaries in the EV charging business: SK Signet manufactures EV charging stations, SK electlink operates the largest network of charging stations in the country and SK E&S provides charging stations for car parks. Competitor LG Electronics, on the other hand, acquired “Apple Mango” to accelerate its entry into this business and later renamed it HiEV Charger. Founded in 2019, HiEV owns proprietary technologies for charging stations.

As a manufacturer of EVs, the Hyundai Motor Group focuses on setting up and operating fast-charging stations. For this purpose, the subsidiary “Korea Electric Vehicle Charging Service” was founded, in which Hyundai and Kia each invested 23 million US dollars. The fast-charging stations have a special function called “Plug&Charge”, which automatically handles authentication, charging and payment. Hyundai plans to build 3,000 fast-charging stations in South Korea by 2025. The fourth group to enter the charging business is Lotte Group. For this purpose, the IT subsidiary Lotte Information Communication has taken over the infrastructure company Joongang Control, formerly EVSIS. As a goal of the takeover, around 13,000 EVSIS charging stations are to be built at important urban parking facilities by 2025. Furthermore, Lotte IC has good chances of winning contracts abroad. In Indonesia, for example, the relocation of the capital Jakarta is creating a new “smart city” that requires EV charging infrastructure in large supermarkets and shopping centres.

The reason for the strong commitment of the large corporations in South Korea to the charging business lies in the high growth opportunities. The German consultancy Roland Berger, for example, estimates that the global EV charging business will grow sixfold from its current value of 55 billion US dollars to 325 billion US dollars by 2030. Despite the good market prospects, the coverage with charging stations in South Korea is insufficient. According to information from the relevant ministries, the number of electric cars is around 424,200, but there are only just under half of the charging stations available, around 225,730.

We offer certification services for all product sectors, including KC certification for consumer products and especially electronics, KC-EMV certification for electronic products and KCs certification for machinery as well as KCs for explosion-proof products. We are at your disposal for all questions regarding Korea certifications.

Feel free to contact us any time if you need assistance or have any questions regarding Korean certifications like KC, KC EMC, KCs, KCs for explosion safety products or KGS factory registration.

Tel. Europe: +49-69-271 37 69 261
Tel. US: +1 773 654-2673

Email: info@korea-certification.com

For more information you can download our free brochure “Korea Certification Made Easy – The Booklet“.