[2025 Naju Innovation Cluster Company CEO] ‘sungyulENG,’ a Specialist in Comprehensive Engineering Using Geospatial Information

Joo soo young, CEO of sungyulENG

Providing high-quality services with a focus on its marine, surveying, geospatial imaging, and power generation businesses
Its primary offerings fall under the categories of marine business, GPR (ground penetrating radar), and renewable energy.

sungyulENG is a specialist in comprehensive engineering using geospatial information. It was founded in February 2013 by CEO Joo soo young.

CEO Joo is a female CEO with expertise in the geospatial information field. She has strengthened her leadership skills by completing the Gwangju Women CEO MBA, graduating in the 9th cohort.

sungyulENG provides high-quality services with a focus on its marine, surveying, geospatial imaging, and power generation businesses. In particular, based on close cooperation with KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) and local governments in the Jeollanam-do region, the company has established its headquarters in the Joint Innovation City in Naju, where it is contributing to the marine business and energy infrastructure development in Korea through technological innovation.

CEO Joo said, “Like our slogan, ‘Thinking is technology,’ our philosophy is solving the problems of customers through the technology of thinking.”

The company's main offerings fall under the categories of marine business, GPR (ground penetrating radar), and renewable energy. First, in the marine business sector, marine surveying is its core focus. In this area, the company performs integrated management of data from seabed topography, soundings, and marine aquaculture site surveys, and provides precise 3D modeling using drones and echo sounders.

“For example, in marine aquaculture site survey projects, we precisely survey the locations, scale, and environmental conditions of fish farms and provide a comprehensive service to minimize their environmental impacts. In particular, through years of business operations, we have become the leading—in fact, the only—company in the Jeollanam-do region that has accumulated expertise in regulations and local government administration, marine surveying, fishing facility conditions, and fishing vessel routes, while also building close ties with residents. In the geospatial information field, we possess unrivaled technological expertise and conduct high-precision surveys in Korea. This is specialized for improving the efficiency of marine resource development.”

For the GPR field, the company initially detected underground cables, pipes, and buried objects in a non-destructive manner, and this was used in basic data surveys for transmission lines and undergrounding construction projects. However, with the recent issue of ground cavities (sinkholes), its focus has shifted to the exploration of underground fixtures and cavities (sinkholes).

“In the renewable energy field, we focus on power impact assessments and infrastructure design for renewable energy generation, including wind and solar power, transmission and transformation equipment, and so on. We are supporting the energy transition by designing offshore wind farm routes and securing safe separation distances, and maximizing project efficiency through simulations that incorporate AR/VR technology. This is an essential green energy solution for the era of carbon neutrality. We are providing a ‘total solution’ that connects all these items together based on geospatial information, and have proven it through a collaborative project with KEPCO.”

CEO Joo said, “The biggest competitive advantage of these items is the strong network that includes KEPCO and the R&D-based technological innovation,” and added, “We established a corporate research center in 2015 and now possess patents in the electric power sector, and our technological expertise has been recognized with the grand prize at 2020 BIXPO and Trusted Partner certification from KEPCO in 2024.”

“Our marine business is differentiated by our environmentally friendly designs based on accurate marine surveys and many years of experience, while for GPR, we have been recognized for the precision of our 3D detection equipment and techniques with exports and technology transfers overseas (India). In the renewable energy field, our integrated solution emphasizes safety and efficiency, and we have proven its soundness in more than 100 projects over the past 10 years. This is our strength: a one-stop solution to the complex problems of customers.”

With its primary sales channel being public tenders, the company has carried out around 100 projects over the past 10 years, including the design of transmission line routes, initial data surveys for undergrounding, and more. In the process, it has built up a robust network. As to marketing, the company is promoting its technology through its website and participation in exhibitions such as BIXPO, and is now seeking to expand globally through pilot projects overseas (India, etc.). In addition, the company is strengthening its B2B marketing by utilizing purchase agreements for products developed with the technology of SMEs. In the future, it plans to expand digital marketing with AR/VR demos.

Until now, sungyulENG has operated stably through its collaboration with KEPCO and its own capital, but the company is now planning to attract investment to accelerate growth. In particular, it aims to attract R&D investment to expand in the marine and renewable energy sectors.

sungyulENG currently has a total of 30 employees, organized into the Power Business Division (6 employees), Marine Business Division (8 employees), Surveying Business Division (12 employees), and Management Support Division (3 employees), all under the leadership of CEO Joo. Most are technical personnel with over 10 years of field experience and professional certifications in power distribution, civil engineering, etc. It is also actively collaborating with external experts.

Regarding future plans, CEO Joo said, “Our goal is to make a leap into a global leader in geospatial information,” and added, “By strengthening our business in the marine and renewable energy sectors, we plan to double sales by 2030, expand overseas exports of GPR 3D technology, and pursue new R&D (domestic production of circuit breaker vibration waveform measurement equipment). Ultimately, we hope to grow into a provider of a total solution that will be essential in the era of carbon neutrality”.

Date of Establishment: February 2013
Main Business: Comprehensive engineering using geospatial information (measurement, marine business, GIS construction, GPR cavity exploration, power designs, power impact assessments)
Performance: Grand prize at BIXPO 2020, certified Trusted Partner of KEPCO in 2024, developed comprehensive measurement equipment for transmission line location information, GPR 3D detector pilot export project for the detection of underground power installations, developed test equipment specialized for measuring vibration waveform characteristics of circuit breakers in open-closed operation

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com