Sung Kim (left), President of Strategy and Planning at Hyundai Motor Group, and Kwak Young-ho, Director of the National Fire Hospital, pose for a photo at the National Fire Hospital’s opening ceremony on the 9th. Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor’s ST1-based ambulance. Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group has donated ambulances and rehabilitation robots to the National Fire Hospital to help firefighters recover and rehabilitate.
Hyundai Motor (005380) Group said on the 12th that it had donated the ambulances and rehabilitation equipment at the opening ceremony of the National Fire Hospital in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, on the 11th. The National Fire Hospital is the country’s first medical institution dedicated to firefighters.
The group donated two ambulances based on Hyundai Motor’s ST1, three rehabilitation robots including the X-ble MEX, one cardiopulmonary rehabilitation exercise testing device, one hyperbaric oxygen chamber and two mental health treatment devices.
Hyundai Motor’s ST1-based ambulance can expand its interior into an optimized configuration depending on its intended use, securing a spacious area for emergency treatment. It can be fitted with medical equipment tailored to a range of field needs.
The X-ble MEX is a medical wearable robot developed in-house by the Robotics Lab of Hyundai Motor and Kia (000270). It assists the walking of patients with lower-body paralysis and people with disabilities, supporting rehabilitation therapy and gait training. The National Fire Hospital plans to operate a separate robotic rehabilitation room centered on the X-ble MEX donated by Hyundai Motor Group to support specialized rehabilitation treatment for firefighters.
Along with these, Hyundai Motor Group donated a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to treat burns, which occur frequently during firefighting, and mental health treatment devices to support psychological recovery.
Since 2023, Hyundai Motor Group has donated 10 “firefighter recovery support vehicles” to fire departments nationwide to help firefighters, who protect lives at various disaster sites, rest and recover. The recovery support vehicle is a premium specialized bus converted from Hyundai Motor Group’s Universe Mobile Office, and firefighters’ on-site feedback was actively reflected throughout the vehicle’s production, including its rest facilities and convenience features.
In 2024, to establish more effective firefighting safety measures, the group developed the “EV Drill Lance,” a penetrating electric-vehicle fire suppression device that bores a hole into the battery pack and sprays water, and donated 250 units to the National Fire Agency. This year, it also donated four “unmanned firefighting robots,” remote fire suppression devices developed jointly with the National Fire Agency, to protect the public and firefighters from fires.
Sung Kim, president of strategic planning at Hyundai Motor Group, said, “I hope the vehicles and rehabilitation equipment incorporating Hyundai Motor Group’s technology will help injured firefighters recover and heal,” adding, “We will continue to spare no support so that firefighters can carry out their duties in a safer environment.”
