[The Editors' Verdict] Partner Companies Frustrated as Overseas Subsidiary Heads Shuttle Across the Pacific

At the Korea International Trade Association, a recent meeting between the CEO of a domestic semiconductor equipment company and the newly appointed Chairman Yoon Jin-sik has become quite a topic of conversation. The company’s CEO met Chairman Yoon, who attended a regional meeting for the first time since his appointment at the end of last month, and immediately appealed, "I need to go to the United States, so please resolve the visa issue." In order to respond to the rapidly changing global semiconductor landscape, having a visa that allows work in the U.S. is essential. Since this issue has remained unresolved for years, the CEO took the opportunity of this introductory meeting to directly raise the visa problem. Within the association, the reaction was, "He must have been so desperate that he did that without even a proper greeting."

The CEO leads one of the world’s top semiconductor equipment companies. He explained the reason for his urgency during a phone call.

Last year, the company established a local subsidiary in San Jose, USA. This was to expand connections with memory semiconductor clients like Micron and to secure new customers in Silicon Valley. However, they immediately faced difficulties. Not only was it impossible to send professionals to sell products or provide technical support, but the head of the local subsidiary was also unable to perform duties properly due to visa issues. They need to obtain the foreign professional visa ‘H-1B,’ but the U.S. government has taken a passive stance on issuing it, saying, "If manpower is needed, the investing company should hire and train locally." The San Jose office is maintained only by a few locally hired employees, while the head of the subsidiary, who should be actively working in the U.S., has been traveling back and forth across the Pacific on a tourist visa. He expressed regret, saying, "There is so much work to be done."

The issue of U.S. professional visas for Korean companies is not new. However, corporate demands have recently increased. As the U.S. promotes the revival of manufacturing and attracts investment in advanced factories, Korean companies’ expansion has become more active. According to KOTRA, since the inauguration of the Biden administration in 2021 until last year, major conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, LG Chem, Hanwha Q CELLS, and Hankook Tire have invested a total of $41.8 billion (approximately 55 trillion KRW). Including their partners, the investment scale is even larger.

Mid-sized partner companies play an essential role in factory operations. They stabilize processes through technical support and, when necessary, provide after-sales service following delivery. However, the burden of visa issues has fallen entirely on these mid-sized partners. The equipment company CEO said, "Since they lack local experience, they cannot even dream of obtaining an L-1 intra-company transfer visa, and having an H-1B is necessary for stable business activities, but there are many difficulties."

Chairman Yoon recently met with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor of Arkansas, who visited Korea, and requested cooperation on visa issues. Governor Sanders served as White House Press Secretary during the Donald Trump administration. Mentioning visa issues to the governor was likely with the U.S. presidential election in mind. Chairman Yoon said, "If the issue spreads through the governor to not only the party but also the House and Senate, it will ultimately contribute to building consensus within the U.S. Congress."

It is uncertain how much influence this consensus-building through dissemination will have. In the U.S. Congress, the Korea Partnership Act, which includes provisions to issue employment visas to Korean professionals, has been introduced. However, it has been proposed and discarded multiple times over more than ten years. Moreover, the number of lawmakers supporting the bill is reportedly decreasing. There is also an assessment that both countries’ authorities are passive due to concerns about job losses in the U.S. and brain drain in Korea. The golden time to create conditions that allow invested companies to operate properly is still slipping away.

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