'Salesperson No.1' Yoon, 8 Trillion Won Sales Success in Two Days (Comprehensive)

Netflix Raises $3.4 Billion Following $2.5 Billion Investment
Corning Inc. Mentions "Investing $1.5 Billion in Korea Over 5 Years"
Choi Sang-mok, Chief Economic Secretary, "Expecting Additional Investment Plans Announcement"

President Yoon Suk-yeol succeeded in attracting $5.9 billion (approximately 7.9 trillion KRW) in investment just two days after his state visit to the United States. On the 24th (local time), only about three hours after arriving in the U.S., he secured a $2.5 billion (approximately 3.3 trillion KRW) investment from Netflix, followed by additional commitments totaling $3.4 billion on the 25th alone. With the cooperation of the government and the domestic economic delegation, as U.S. companies' investments in Korea are expected to increase, President Yoon's recent trip is already being evaluated as a success in the field of 'economic diplomacy.'

The Presidential Office announced that, on this occasion of President Yoon's 'state visit to the U.S.,' the global display materials company Corning has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in Korea. Choi Sang-mok, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Presidential Office, told reporters at the Washington press center about Corning's investment plan, emphasizing, "We have attracted a total of $5.9 billion in investment within two days of the visit."

President Yoon Suk-yeol, on a state visit to the United States, delivered a congratulatory speech at the Korea-US Advanced Industry Forum held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on the 25th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Thus, the total investment amount President Yoon secured in the U.S. over the past two days rose to $5.9 billion, around 8 trillion KRW. This includes the previous day's Netflix investment ($2.5 billion) and six companies that attended the investment declaration ceremony on the same day ($1.9 billion). Senior Secretary Choi explained, "We also expect announcements of additional investment plans from participating companies."

President Yoon personally oversaw the six companies that pledged investments at the investment declaration ceremony. These companies represent the hydrogen, semiconductor, and eco-friendly industries: Air Products, Plug Power, ON Semiconductor, Green Tweed, PureCycle Technologies, and EMP Belstar. President Yoon expressed his gratitude individually to the CEOs of each company for deciding on large-scale investments.

In particular, President Yoon mentioned each company by name and expressed expectations for further cooperation. He stated, "Investments by ON Semiconductor and Green Tweed in the semiconductor sector are key to economic security, contributing to the semiconductor industry's supply chain and strengthening advanced technology cooperation." He added, "Investments by Air Products and Plug Power in the clean hydrogen sector, and by PureCycle Technologies and EMP Belstar in the eco-friendly sector, will play a significant role in the green transition of energy and industrial structures."

U.S. companies also pledged their future commitments with Korean companies. Following the six companies, Wendell Weeks, Chairman of Corning, said, "Corning has invested over $10 billion in Korea over the past 50 years and created thousands of jobs," and added, "I would like to take this opportunity to announce an additional $1.5 billion investment in Korea over the next five years."

President Yoon then attended the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable, seeking solutions to strengthen the advanced technology alliance between major companies from both countries. This roundtable was organized to discuss cooperation plans among key Korean and U.S. companies in future advanced industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, artificial intelligence (AI), and biotechnology.

The U.S. participating companies included representatives from the semiconductor, IT, and AI sectors such as Qualcomm, Lam Research, ON Semiconductor, Corning, IBM, Microsoft, and Google; clean energy and electric vehicle sectors including GE, TerraPower, GM, and Tesla; defense and aerospace sectors with Boeing and Lockheed Martin; and biotechnology sectors with CEOs from Moderna and Biogen.

At the Davos Global CEO luncheon, notable attendees who met with President Yoon included Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm; Gary Cohn, Vice Chairman of IBM and a strong advocate of the Korea-U.S. FTA who served as NEC Chairman under the Trump administration; Kan Budhiraja, Tesla’s Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, who pledged to purchase $10 billion worth of parts from Korean companies this year; and Noubar Afeyan, Chairman of Moderna’s Board and founder who played a significant role in supporting Korea with vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the Korean side, representatives from major groups closely cooperating with these companies attended, including Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, Lotte, Hanwha, Hanjin, Hyosung, Poongsan, and Korea Aerospace Industries. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong remarked, "On the strong foundation of the Korea-U.S. alliance, business partners from both countries have closely cooperated, and now is the time to work together for 70 years of shared prosperity in the future."

At this event, President Yoon also called for cooperation between Korean and U.S. business leaders. In his congratulatory speech, he evaluated the Korea-U.S. alliance as "an exemplary alliance that has created mutually beneficial outcomes beyond security to the entire economy," adding, "This is thanks to the business communities of both countries who share a firm belief in the values of freedom and solidarity." He further stated, "Marking the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance this year, it has evolved into a value alliance sharing universal values of liberal democracy and market economy, developing into a 'global comprehensive strategic alliance' from military and security to supply chains and advanced science and technology sectors. I hope we will build an even stronger future-oriented cooperative relationship and prepare for the next 70 years."

Senior Secretary Choi evaluated, "As the President said, the relationship between the two countries requires each other in almost all fields of advanced industry supply chains and advanced technology," and added, "On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, today's business forum was very meaningful."

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