North Gyeongsang Province and Pohang city sign a 300 billion won investment MOU with KMMI at Pohang City Hall on Tuesday. [Pohang city]
North Gyeongsang Province and Pohang city sign a 300 billion won investment MOU with KMMI at Pohang City Hall on Tuesday. [Pohang city]

North Gyeongsang Province and Pohang city signed an investment MOU with KMMI and its US parent company, Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. (EMAT), at Pohang City Hall on Tuesday.

The signing ceremony was attended by about 30 people, including Pohang Mayor Park Yong-seon, North Gyeongsang Province Deputy Governor for Economy Yang Geum-hee, Pohang City Council Speaker Kim Cheol-su, KMMI CEO Jeon Yu-heon and EMAT CEO Moon Seok-jin.

Under the agreement, KMMI will invest 300 billion won ($227 million) from this year through 2030 to scale up rare-earth and non-rare-earth magnet production facilities with an annual capacity of 6,000 metric tons at a roughly 118,000-square-meter site in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex in Nam-gu, Pohang.

KMMI is a rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturer established in 2021 and based in Pohang.

The expansion will give the Pohang plant an integrated domestic production line covering everything from raw materials to finished magnets.

"Rare-earth permanent magnets are a core security resource that determines the survival of South Korea's key advanced industries — including semiconductors, secondary batteries, defense and automobiles — and we will spare no administrative support to help KMMI grow into a world-class materials company in Pohang," Deputy Governor Yang said.

Mayor Park said he expects the investment to position Pohang as a strategic hub in the national supply chain for critical materials.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com