Plano Mayor, City Officials Visit Seoul to Boost EV Charging Partnership

Mayor John Muns stood inside a large-scale electromagnetic compatibility chamber at SK Signet's Seoul headquarters last week while engineers demonstrated the testing systems behind the same 400-kilowatt ultra-fast chargers produced at the company's factory back home in Plano.

Muns and City Manager Mark Israelson led an official city delegation that visited SK Signet's headquarters and R&D center from April 2 to 6, meeting with CEO Hyung-Ki Cho and other company executives. Beyond the EMC chamber, the group toured design and validation labs for ultra-fast chargers and observed vehicle simulators the company uses to certify charging performance before units ship.

The visit is grounded in infrastructure that already carries a Plano address. SK Signet opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility here in June 2023, a 136,200-square-foot plant capable of producing more than 10,000 ultra-fast chargers per year. The company projected up to 183 jobs at that site. The chargers coming off that line include 400kW units that can bring an EV battery to 80 percent charge in about 15 minutes, roughly the length of a coffee stop, and SK Signet recently unveiled a new 400kW all-in-one model that could factor into future North American deployments.

"It is very meaningful to see SK Signet's advanced research facilities and outstanding technological capabilities firsthand," Muns said. "The company's production base in Plano plays a pivotal role in the local economy and also in advancing EV infrastructure across the United States. We will continue to actively support the company at the city level and work closely with state and federal governments to ensure its continued growth."

Both sides said discussions focused on expanding EV charging access in Plano and across North America and reinforcing the supply chain at the Plano plant. No specific deployment timelines or new project commitments were announced from the meetings, and the city did not publicly disclose travel costs for the delegation.

Cho framed the Plano operation as the foundation of SK Signet's U.S. strategy. "Plano serves as a critical North American hub with a business-friendly environment, strong talent, and strategic positioning, providing a solid foundation for building a stable supply chain and expanding our business," he said. "Through close collaboration with Plano, we will continue to contribute to the expansion of EV charging infrastructure in North America while fostering shared growth with the local community and industry ecosystem."

Whether the Seoul meetings ultimately produce a denser network of fast chargers across Plano, a larger factory footprint, or formal workforce development commitments, will be the concrete test of what Muns and Israelson brought home.