Hyundai chairman's son-in-law exports 3D printing

By Kim Yoo-chul

Seon Doo-hoon, CEO of Instec

The oldest son-in-law of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo has signed a contract with unnamed European companies to sell direct metal tooling (DMT) 3D equipment through his own firm.

According to industry sources, Seon Doo-hoon, husband of Chung’s oldest daughter Seon-yi, clinched a “multimillion-dollar” deal for the equipment.

Seon is the CEO of Instec, a local medium-sized business, and the equipment was developed using Instec-owned patents. Instec is the first medium-sized Korean company to export products manufactured with in-house technology.

“Hyundai Motor Group didn’t provide any support to Seon for the development of the equipment,” said an official. “Only a few U.S. and European companies could produce DMT 3D equipment commercially, given the high tech barrier. But Instec made it.”

The latest agreement will help Instec find new clients in the United States, though the official declined to specify the names of potential clients in the United States that it has been in talks with.

Also known as additive printing technology, 3D printing allows manufacturers to make an objects using a digital file and printing materials.

The global 3D printing market was valued at $2.3 billion in 2013 and is anticipated to reach $8.6 billion by 2020.

Instec said it was approached for technology collaborations by companies in Germany and Japan. Last December, Instec was added as a top supplier within the ecosystem of Tesla Motors.

“I am thrilled to export Instec-developed products in Europe, as Europe is the frontrunner in adopting 3D printing,” Seon said. “This will make us proud. We plan to expand our business coverage beyond Europe for qualitative corporate growth.”