'Korea's First Salesperson' Yoon Attracts $16.5 Billion... Achieves Best First Half Performance

Investment Declaration Ceremony for Europe Region in Paris
New Investment of $940 Million
Achieved $16.54 Billion in First Half...Record High
1 in 5 Foreign Investments Attracted by Yoon Administration

President Yoon Suk-yeol secured $940 million (1.2 trillion KRW) in Korean investments during his visit to France. As a result, the total foreign investment declarations for the first half of this year reached $16.54 billion (21.4 trillion KRW), marking an all-time high. Having volunteered as the "No. 1 Salesperson of the Republic of Korea," President Yoon also took the lead in increasing the investment amounts from various companies.

On the 21st (local time), President Yoon attended the European regional investment declaration ceremony held at a hotel in central Paris, personally expressing gratitude to the CEOs of six advanced European companies that decided on large-scale investments and reaffirming the Korean government's commitment to supporting investments in advanced industries. President Yoon told the business leaders, "The Presidential Office always welcomes visits from foreign businesspeople and keeps its doors open. Please inform the Presidential Office anytime if you encounter difficulties in proceeding with your investments."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a speech at the European Regional Investment Declaration Ceremony held at a hotel in Paris, France, on the 21st (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the Presidential Office, with the addition of the European regional investment declarations on this day, the total foreign investment declarations for this year reached $16.54 billion. This surpasses the previous first-half record of $15.75 billion set in 2018, marking the largest scale ever.

A notable point is that out of this amount, $3.14 billion in foreign investments were attracted through President Yoon’s top-level sales diplomacy since the beginning of the year. This means that one out of every five foreign investment declarations in the first half was a direct result of President Yoon’s efforts. In fact, President Yoon has continued his top-level sales diplomacy as the "No. 1 Salesperson of Korea." In January, at Davos, Switzerland, he secured $300 million from one company, and during his state visit to the United States in April, he received investment declarations totaling $1.9 billion from six companies. Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Do-woon explained, "This outcome can be attributed to a combination of factors including the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s policy direction emphasizing liberalism and internationalism, regulatory reforms and institutional improvements aligned with global standards, and top-level sales diplomacy efforts."

On this day as well, President Yoon expressed gratitude to the CEOs of the six companies that decided to invest and emphasized the Korean government’s commitment to supporting investments in advanced industries. During a conversation with the business leaders, President Yoon said, "Since its inception, our government has focused on regulatory reforms and attracting foreign investments based on liberalism and internationalism. We ask you to consider the European and Korean markets as one and actively pursue investments."

He added, "Korea and Europe, as partners sharing universal values, have built close supply chains through investments in advanced industries. With today’s investment announcements from Imerys, Umicore, Continental, Equinor, CIP, and Nylacast, the economic cooperation between Korea and Europe will be further strengthened."

A Presidential Office official stated, "The six companies will proceed with domestic investments related to advanced industries such as secondary batteries, electric vehicles, offshore wind power, and advanced materials, which is expected to strengthen supply chains and advanced technology cooperation between Korea and Europe. Going forward, the government will not only attract investments from advanced companies but also continuously improve the investment environment to foster domestic job creation and establish an innovative industrial ecosystem."

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