Four Major Groups Embark on Economic Diplomacy... Unveiling a 40 Trillion Won Investment Package

Tonight, 'Hanmi Business Council Meeting' Held Ahead of Summit

SK Innovation Battery Plants 1 and 2 located in Georgia, USA
Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Ahead of the Korea-US summit, the "Korea-US Business Council Meeting," attended by representatives of Korean and American companies, will be held. It is expected to be an occasion to concretize economic cooperation by coordinating South Korea's demand for COVID-19 vaccine supply and the US's conditions for local investment in key industries such as semiconductors, batteries, and electric vehicles.

According to diplomatic authorities and business circles on the 21st (Korean time), the Korea-US Business Council Meeting will be held this afternoon under the chairmanship of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo ahead of the Korea-US summit. Attendees include Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and representatives of the four major domestic conglomerates. From Korea, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, Hyundai Motor President Gong Young-woon, LG Energy Solution President Kim Jong-hyun, Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim, and SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong are scheduled to attend. From the US, executives from Intel, Qualcomm, and Ford will participate.

At this roundtable meeting, the investment plans of Korean companies in the US, expected to be worth about 40 trillion won, are anticipated to be a major agenda item. A senior official of the Biden administration said at a media briefing the day before, "Korean CEOs are bringing significant commitments and investment plans related to technology, batteries, advanced semiconductors, and 5G," adding, "This reflects a mutual hope to cooperate broadly in innovation, supply chains, and new-age logic chips." He further stated, "This is a very strong commitment from the Korean side to President Biden's desire to enhance technological capabilities and build back better."

Semiconductors, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, etc. Expected to Be Major US Investment Agenda
Korea-US Coordination on COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Also

Among the investment plans under review or confirmed by Korean companies, Samsung Electronics' expansion of its foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) plant carries the most weight in terms of scale and impact. The plan is to expand the production line with an investment of $17 billion (about 20 trillion won), with Austin, Texas, where the foundry plant is currently operating, considered a likely investment location. Samsung Electronics also participated in a virtual meeting chaired by Secretary Raimondo to discuss responses to the global semiconductor chip shortage with global companies. This is the second such meeting following a virtual meeting held at the White House last month. This has led to interpretations that the Biden administration is pressuring Samsung Electronics to invest in the US.

The Korea-US summit is accelerating cooperation between companies of both countries. Hyundai Motor Group has decided to invest a total of $7.4 billion (about 8.1417 trillion won) by 2025 to promote electric vehicle production facilities, hydrogen, and urban air mobility (UAM) businesses in the US, and SK Innovation agreed the day before to establish a joint venture (JV) worth about 6 trillion won with Ford, the second-largest automaker in the US. Meanwhile, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea requested the Korean government the day before to exempt travelers who have completed COVID-19 vaccination in the US from mandatory self-quarantine upon entering Korea to activate Korea-US economic exchanges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.