20th International Forgemasters Meeting - IFM 2017

This paper updates remarkable changes in production and market trend, the status of major players, and development of new products and technologies of Korean open die forging industry since 19th IFM in Tokyo. Like many other countries, there have been heavy and intensive investments in major Korean forgemasters in early 2000’s when the global economy was booming up to its peak. But global financial crunch taken place in year 2008 rapidly cooled down the market of all of the forward industries and Korean forgemasters started suffering from unbalanced demand and supply of forging products. It is already almost 10 years since global financial crisis in 2008, but the current market status keeps going slow and many Korean forgemasters had to experience financial difficulties, causing reshaping of overall forging industries in Korea including reorganization.