'Started with the Pony': Hyundai Motor shares its heritage with aspiring entrepreneurs

"Vision is the future. Hyundai Motor has been investing in future technology for several years now. Hyundai Motor is the company that best embodies the spirit of a 'visionpreneur,'" said Sung Kim, president of strategic planning at Hyundai Motor.

Sung Kim made the remarks Sunday at the 2026 Visionpreneur Camp, a university student entrepreneurship program hosted by the Korea Enterprises Federation, or KEF. Hyundai Motor started with the Pony and became the world's third-largest automaker in 50 years, he said, adding that reaching second place was only a matter of time.

The Visionpreneur Camp is an annual program that invites one KEF member company to share its entrepreneurial spirit and encourage students to think like business founders. Hyundai Motor Group took the spotlight this year as the third edition of the camp, following Lotte Group in 2024 and Posco Group in 2025.

The three-day, two-night event was held at Rolling Hills Hotel in Hwaseong, near Hyundai Motor's Namyang Research and Development Center — the company's hub for technological innovation — adding special significance to the venue.

Some 180 members of the KEF's university economics club, the Young Leaders Club, showed strong interest in Hyundai Motor's recent push into humanoid robotics, on top of its core automotive business.

In his opening remarks on the first day, Sung Kim described Hyundai Motor as the company most deserving of the title "visionpreneur" — a portmanteau of "vision" and "entrepreneur" — pointing to its work realizing a robotics vision through subsidiary Boston Dynamics.

"Having a good idea alone is not enough. You have to be able to carry that idea all the way through to execution," Sung Kim said. "Chairman Euisun Chung has led Hyundai Motor to where it stands today by holding a long-term vision and seeing it through."

Sung Kim also mentioned that he had recently accompanied President Lee Jae-myung on an economic delegation to Italy, where he met the CEO of Ferrari. "We used to look up to Ferrari, but not anymore. We take pride in knowing we can build an even more impressive car," he said.

He went on to say, "I hope each of you will create your own future — and beyond that, work hard for the country as well."

KEF Vice Chairman Kim Chang-beom also paid tribute at the opening ceremony to the late Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Motor Group, calling him "the embodiment of entrepreneurial spirit" and reflecting on his pioneering drive.

Chung served for a decade as chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries — the predecessor to the KEF — from 1977 to 1987.

"Venturing down an uncharted path demands great courage and resolve, and sometimes sacrifice," Kim said. "I hope that in 10 to 20 years, you will fulfill your dreams of founding a unicorn or decacorn, or rising to the C-suite — surpassing founder Chung Ju-yung himself."

Students attending the camp will visit Hyundai Motor's Asan factory and Kia's Hwaseong factory on Monday before working in teams on projects related to the future mobility industry and presenting their findings. On the final day, July 1, Hyundai Motor Senior Vice President Lee In-a will deliver a lecture on the theme of "Shifts in the Future Energy Paradigm for Humanity."