Hyundai Motor Group donates vehicles, rehabilitation equipment to National Fire Hospital

An ST1-based ambulance donated by Hyundai Motor Group to the National Fire Hospital [Hyundai Motor Group]

Hyundai Motor Group is expanding its support for firefighters' health recovery and rehabilitation, extending a range of assistance to those who serve on the front lines of disaster response.

The group announced Wednesday that it donated vehicles and rehabilitation equipment at the opening ceremony Tuesday of the National Fire Hospital in Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province — the country's first medical facility dedicated exclusively to firefighters.

Hyundai Motor Group first announced plans to donate vehicles and rehabilitation equipment at a 2024 ceremony in Jeju where it handed over hydrogen recovery buses for firefighters. At an unmanned firefighting robot donation event in February, group Chairman Euisun Chung reaffirmed the group's commitment to supporting the National Fire Hospital.

The group donated two ST1-based ambulances, three X-ble MEX rehabilitation robots and one cardiopulmonary rehabilitation exercise testing device, one hyperbaric oxygen therapy unit, and two mental health treatment devices to the hospital.

The ambulances, built on the Hyundai Motor ST1 platform, feature an expandable interior that can be configured to suit different operational needs, providing a spacious emergency treatment area and accommodating a wide range of medical equipment.

The vehicles also incorporate a walk-through design allowing free movement between the driver's cab and the patient compartment, along with a high interior ceiling to improve mobility and ease of treatment. A low step height at the second-row door further simplifies boarding and alighting, enabling faster and more efficient patient transport and on-scene response in emergencies.

The X-ble MEX is a medical wearable robot developed in-house by the Hyundai Motor and Kia Robotics Lab. It assists patients with lower-body paralysis and people with disabilities in walking, supporting rehabilitation treatment and gait training.

The X-ble MEX supports five movements — walking, standing, sitting, climbing and descending stairs, and turning left and right. The robot's individual segments can be adjusted to fit the wearer's body, and it can be put on while seated.

The National Fire Hospital plans to operate a dedicated robot rehabilitation room centered on the donated X-ble MEX units to provide specialized rehabilitation care for firefighters.

The X-ble MEX donated by Hyundai Motor Group to the National Fire Hospital [Hyundai Motor Group]

The group also donated a hyperbaric oxygen therapy unit to treat burns — injuries common in firefighting — and mental health treatment devices to support psychological recovery.

Hyundai Motor Group has maintained close cooperation with the National Fire Agency with the goal of building a safer society.

Since 2023, the group has donated 10 "firefighter recovery support vehicles" — converted Hyundai Motor Group Universe mobile offices — to fire headquarters across the country to support the rest and recovery of firefighters protecting lives at disaster scenes.

In 2024, the group developed the EV Drill Lance, a piercing-type electric vehicle fire suppression device that drills into battery packs and injects water, and donated 250 units to the National Fire Agency as part of efforts to establish more effective fire safety measures.

This year, the group donated four unmanned firefighting robots — developed jointly with the National Fire Agency — to protect the public and firefighters from fire.

Sung Kim, president and head of strategic planning at Hyundai Motor Group, said he hoped the vehicles and rehabilitation equipment incorporating the group's technology would aid in the recovery and treatment of injured firefighters. "We will spare no effort in supporting firefighters so they can carry out their duties in an even safer environment," he said.

Meanwhile, the group participated in the 2026 Safe Korea Exercise held in May at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research and Development Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, organized by the city of Hwaseong, deploying one of the unmanned firefighting robots it had donated to the National Fire Agency as part of its broader corporate social responsibility efforts.

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