[HMG Tech Talent Forum 2026 Series ②] Minwoo Park, President and Head of AVP Division at Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of 42dot; Hyundai Motor Group’s Roadmap for Commercializing AI Technology

At the time, the industry heavily relied on external solutions, such as Mobileye’s EyeQ chip. Park helped drive the shift away from this dependency, designing and developing an independent, camera-centric deep learning system from the ground up. This breakthrough eventually led to a "Vision Only" strategy—an architecture capable of perceiving and navigating its environment purely through cameras and deep learning. Park notes that the lessons he learned through this process have left a lasting impact on him.

It also builds up his strong belief that control over software will shape the future of mobility. 

Having completed his degrees in the United States and built his career within global tech giants, Park had desired to eventually return and contribute to his motherland, South Korea. Hyundai Motor Group provided the perfect destination for that desire.  

Park is a firm believer that true mobility innovation becomes possible only when scalable hardware and strong software capabilities are seamlessly integrated. He also came to be convinced that Hyundai Motor Group is the right place to realize this vision of mobility innovation. “I recognized in Hyundai Motor Group a unique convergence of world-class hardware prowess and vast software potential,” Park reflects, “backed by an eagerness to transform into a smart mobility solutions provider.” It was the belief that eventually led him to HMG.

His ambition is far-reaching. He aims to position HMG at the vanguard of next-generation intelligent mobility, establishing the group as a definitive global benchmark for innovation. On a broader scale, he envisions South Korea being universally recognized as a leader in the field. This grand vision is essentially linked to his core leadership philosophy.

As Hyundai Motor Group navigates its transition into the SDV era, he believes this proficient coordination is paramount. “Hardware and software cannot operate in isolation, just as R&D and mass-production units cannot operate in silos,” he adds. “Seamless collaboration and cross-functional communication are precisely what empower all these moving parts to operate as a single, cohesive entity.”

The key is “balance”. Employees must generate decisions and take initiatives confidently. Once a decision is reached through rigorous debate and discussion, the organization must possess the collective maturity to execute and move forward as a cohesive team. This balance is where Park identifies a natural synergy with Hyundai Motor Group’s ongoing transformation.

Park observes that “The group earned its global reputation through disciplined fundamentals—uncompromising quality management, operational discipline, and the consistent delivery of reliable products to our customers.” However, the SDV era demands a different operating rhythm that requires faster horizontal collaboration; HMG is already transforming in such a way that bridges hardware, software, R&D, and production.

For Park, this philosophy aligns seamlessly with his broader view of technology. The winner in the SDV race will be the one capable of scaling such technology into mass-production vehicles with unprecedented speed, safety, and reliability.

The end game is clear. “Our main objective is to cultivate autonomous driving technologies that we can fully trust, validate, and scale entirely on our own terms,” he concludes.

Park views robotics through that very same prism. Since taking charge of Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics organization, he has consistently applied his signature execution-first philosophy: technology must not exist merely as a proof of concept. It must deliver tangible utility to people, withstand the rigorous realities of commercialization, and seamlessly scale into mass production and widespread deployment.

“Robotics is inseparable from the broader narrative of mobility,” Park explains. “It is one of the group’s foundational pillars, deeply tied to autonomous driving, Physical AI, and the ultimate strategic future direction of Hyundai Motor Group.” While Hyundai Motor Group has already secured substantial internal capability and technical maturity, Park believes the organization has now reached a critical stage. “We must focus our efforts on translating raw technology into tangible business outcomes.”

This same execution-first mindset directly extends to the engineers navigating the SDV transition. Park observes that “Hyundai Motor Group is in the midst of a profound transformation currently coexist.” In this process, differences in perspective naturally arise between hardware and software, as well as between R&D and mass production.

“In a transformation of this scale, friction is inevitable,” Park notes. “The key is to guide that conflict into a constructive one that allows us to build a far more mature and complete product.”

This is the same context as his earlier emphasis on breaking down silos. Information must be shared transparently, and teams should communicate and collaborate seamlessly across organizational boundaries. While rank and tenure matter in decision-making, logic and objective data must ultimately carry the day. Park’s message to his engineers is clear: “Do not pursue technology for technology’s sake. Focus relentlessly on building the finest technology that elevates human lives. And if we fail along the way, I will personally take the fall.”

It is a uniquely pivotal moment for talented engineers to join Hyundai Motor Group. The coexistence of legacy engineering and software-led approaches creates a unique window of opportunity, as the group transitions to SDVs. Such a transformation makes the seemingly impossible possible. Aspiring young engineers can sud-denly take center stage at major decision-making tables, corporate cultures become far more tolerant of failure, and cutting-edge tech stacks are adopted overnight. In essence, the rules of the game are being fundamentally rewritten.

Concurrently, Hyundai Motor Group offers an invaluable proposition that pure-play tech environments simply cannot match: hands-on experience across the full lifecycle of a large-scale mass-production system—spanning from initial design and validation to global deployment and operations. “For any ambitious engineer, finding that exact combination is exceedingly rare,” Park concludes.

When Park articulates his vision for the future of Hyundai Motor Group, one definitive word takes center stage: Execution. Genuine mobility innovation requires the absolute, organic fusion of perfectly scalable hardware and exceptional software capability. Park asserts that “Advanced research alone is insufficient; we must seamlessly translate our technological developments into mass-production vehicles with speed, precision, and unshakeable trust.”

This entails achieving the full internalization of autonomous driving technology at an accelerated pace. It also demands ensuring that the SDV architecture designed by Hyundai Motor Group transitions onto the production line seamlessly and without disruption. Safety remains paramount. However, Park equally wants to accelerate the group’s momentum—elevating technical completeness while capturing market leadership ahead of the competition.

Park’s benchmark for commercializing autonomous driving is uncompromising, given that the technology is directly intertwined with human lives. Automotive-grade stability and reliability are not optional; they are absolute prerequisites for market entry. This explains why Hyundai Motor Group focuses less on the race for short-term launches and more on securing sustainable, mid- to long-term competitiveness. By establishing a data flywheel that links technology development, data acquisition, model optimization, and deployment, the group is engineering a systemic cycle that continuously trains and refines AI models utilizing real-world production data. “Our North Star is simple: best-in-class autonomous driving technology built on customer trust.”

For developers, Hyundai Motor Group’s two-track autonomous driving strategy offers a uniquely compelling proposition. While global collaboration provides exposure to international standards and rigorous validation, securing proprietary technology ensures grounding in optimization and real-world execution. Spending time in both tracks simultaneously allows engineers to participate in the ongoing process of harmonizing these two worlds.

In this environment, developers do not merely follow global standards blindly. Instead, they learn to identify what needs improvement on their own and how to implement those changes directly. “And this opportunity elevates an engineer from a mere developer to a definitive technical decision-maker,” Park emphasizes.

Lastly, the forum also fosters invaluable human connections. Through tailored networking sessions—including the Networking Dinner—participants can engage in candid, organic conversations with HMG’s executive leaders and top experts. This environment allows them to get a sense of the people, the organizational culture, and the very teams they might one day collaborate with.

In Park’s view, the HMG Tech Talent Forum is meticulously designed to provide participants with the opportunity to experience the present and future of Hyundai Motor Group. The strategy, people, and technology that drive Hyundai Motor Group’s next chapter can all be found at the HMG Tech Talent Forum.