LS Cable to build South Korea's largest rare-earth magnet plant in Gumi

Facility to cover 17% of domestic demand

Mass production of robot-use products set for second half of 2028

North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo (from left), LS Cable CEO Koo Bon-kyu, Korea Motion Works CEO Hong Young-ho and Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho pose for a photo at the signing ceremony. [LS Cable]

LS Cable announced Thursday that Korea Motion Works, its rare-earth permanent magnet subsidiary, signed an investment memorandum of understanding with North Gyeongsang Province and the city of Gumi to build a production facility worth about 350 billion won ($262 million).

National Assembly members Koo Ja-geun and Kang Myung-gu, North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo and Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho were among the officials who attended the signing ceremony.

Korea Motion Works plans to break ground in the first half of next year and begin mass production of neodymium (NdFeB) permanent magnets for robots and electric vehicles in the second half of 2028, later expanding into samarium cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets for defense applications. Annual production capacity will exceed 1,000 tons — equivalent to about 17 percent of total domestic demand, estimated at roughly 6,000 tons. "The Gumi factory will be the largest rare-earth permanent magnet production facility in South Korea," an LS Cable official said.

LS Cable plans to build a non-China supply chain covering raw materials through finished products by linking rare-earth raw material supply from Australia's Lynas, rare-earth metal production by LS Eco Energy in Vietnam, and permanent magnet manufacturing in the United States and South Korea. The company intends to develop rare earths and permanent magnets into a core growth business.

The Gumi plant will serve as the key production hub of that non-China supply chain. LS Cable said it will use the facility as a base to target the global defense, robotics and electric vehicle markets while strengthening the supply stability of critical materials for South Korea's advanced industries.

Gumi has been designated a national strategic industry cluster for robotics, raising expectations for synergies between the permanent magnet facility and the local robotics sector. LS Cable said it will draw on decades of manufacturing expertise accumulated in Gumi to help strengthen the regional advanced-materials industry ecosystem, create jobs and revitalize the local economy.

"The active investment attraction efforts and cooperative spirit of North Gyeongsang Province and Gumi City were a great driving force behind this investment decision," Korea Motion Works CEO Hong Young-ho said. "We will develop Gumi into a rare-earth permanent magnet production hub that the world takes notice of, and grow together with the region."

yeongdai@heraldcorp.com