March 18–20, 2026
Hall 10B, Korea International Exhibition Center, Korea

Automotive Testing Korea Conference

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30 years past and 30 years ahead of test equipment for automotive thermal management component R&D

20 Mar 2026
Day 3
In the history of South Korea's automotive advancement, the sector of R&D test equipment has also undergone significant development. Historically, the industry followed major global trends led by three powerhouses: Germany (Stuttgart), the birthplace of the automobile; the United States (Detroit), which achieved mass adoption through large-scale production; and Japan (Nagoya), known for its focus on economic efficiency and practicality. As a global industrial leader today, South Korea was naturally influenced by the technological foundations of these three nations. This influence was particularly evident in the R&D of automotive thermal management components. In the past, Korean companies had no choice but to follow the test equipment providers rooted in the R&D infrastructures of those advanced nations alongside the introduction of new automotive technologies. However, a turning point came during the 1996 foreign exchange crisis (pre-IMF). The skyrocketing exchange rates necessitated the localization of equipment. Before 1996, the market was dominated by trading companies that imported foreign equipment. Paradoxically, while the currency crisis forced many trading firms to close, it provided a golden opportunity for engineers who were dedicated to localizing technology. This shift was a pivotal moment for R&D developers in the test equipment sector. Looking back, the past 30 years of this industry have moved in tandem with the growth of the Korean automotive industry. However, the next 30 years are expected to be a future where both concerns and high expectations coexist. The core of securing driving range and ensuring human-centered thermal comfort for electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM) lies in thermal management. In particular, the heat pump system – considered the most advanced thermal management technology – requires the development of 3 to 4 times more components than traditional air-conditioning cycles to optimize the temperature of batteries, motors, inverters and control CPUs. Consequently, developing top-tier EV thermal management components demands extensive testing, which in turn requires advanced R&D for the test equipment itself. Seoul Industry Engineering anticipates that test equipment will evolve from current human-centered R&D processes toward AI-based HILS (hardware-in-the-loop simulation) systems. The integration of AI with existing specialized software and CFD (computational fluid dynamics), combined with automation, is expected to bring unpredictable environmental shifts within the next decade.
Speakers
Oh Sang-taek, CEO - Seoul Industry Engineering