[비즈한국] Hyundai Motor Company's stock price is rising significantly. Although Hyundai Motor's operating profit declined last year, the recent announcement of investment plans for Saemangeum is interpreted as reflecting expectations for the future. In particular, Hyundai Motor is expected to play a key role in the fields of autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI).
Hyundai Motor's stock price rose from 509,000 won on the 20th to 674,000 won on the 27th. It surged by a staggering 32.42% in just one week. While the recent high-flying stock prices of Samsung Electronics005930 and SK Hynix00660 are drawing attention, Hyundai Motor's stock is also showing an upward trend comparable to these companies.
In fact, it is difficult to say that Hyundai Motor's recent performance is positive. Hyundai Motor's revenue increased by 6.29% from 175.2312 trillion won in 2024 to 186.2545 trillion won in 2025. However, during the same period, operating profit decreased by 19.47% from 14.2396 trillion won to 11.4679 trillion won. In its regulatory filing, Hyundai Motor stated the reason for the decline in operating profit: "Operating profit, profit before corporate tax, and net income decreased due to factors such as North American tariff impacts."
Nevertheless, the rise in Hyundai Motor's stock price is interpreted as a reflection of future expectations. In the securities industry, the Saemangeum investment is cited as one of the factors driving the rise in Hyundai Motor's stock. On the 27th, Hyundai Motor Group announced that it had signed an 'Investment Agreement (MOU) for the Fostering of Saemangeum Robot and Hydrogen Cutting-edge Industries and the Creation of an AI Hydrogen City' with the government and Jeonbuk State at the Gunsan Saemangeum Convention Center.
Hyundai Motor Group explained that, following the agreement, it will secure future growth engines by investing 9 trillion won starting in 2026 in an area of 1.124 million square meters (approx. 340,000 pyeong) in the Saemangeum region, focusing on robots, AI, hydrogen energy, solar power generation, and an AI hydrogen city. The company added that it plans to contribute significantly to boosting the national economy by promoting balanced regional development and job creation through innovation in the domestic robot and AI industries and a major transformation of the hydrogen ecosystem.
Hyundai Motor is also not hiding its expectations. Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, emphasized, "The next-generation industrial paradigm starting in Saemangeum will become the backbone of a major transformation that designs the future of Korea beyond Jeonbuk," adding, "Hyundai Motor Group, equipped with manufacturing expertise as well as capabilities in robots, AI, and hydrogen energy, is ready to build a cutting-edge industrial ecosystem."
Hyundai Motor's share buyback is also mentioned as one of the factors for the stock price increase. On January 29th, Hyundai Motor announced a share buyback worth approximately 400 billion won. Hyundai Motor plans to complete the buyback by this coming April. The company disclosed the reason for the buyback as "the enhancement of shareholder value."
For this reason, the atmosphere in the securities industry is that Hyundai Motor's stock price will rise further. Kang Sung-jin, a researcher at KB Securities, analyzed, "The perception of Hyundai Motor is shifting from a traditional value stock to a 'physical AI-based' growth stock," and "As global capital disperses into emerging markets due to the weakening dollar starting in 2026, the 'money move' is becoming full-scale. As the third-largest company by market cap on the KOSPI, Hyundai Motor is expected to be a core pillar of expanding weight in the Korean market alongside semiconductors." KB Securities set a target price of 800,000 won for Hyundai Motor.
Yoo Ji-woong, a researcher at Daol Investment Securities, evaluated, "Starting with this Saemangeum investment, Hyundai Motor Group's investment horizon has shifted significantly from automotive production plants to AI infrastructure investment," adding, "This is a decisive variable that will determine the learning speed in autonomous driving compared to competitors."