With Hyundai Motor Group's surprise announcement of a new $21 billion investment in the United States, major Korean companies are expected to accelerate their investments in the US. On the 24th (local time), Chung Euisun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, met with US President Donald Trump at the White House and announced plans to increase the annual production capacity of the Georgia electric vehicle plant by 200,000 units and to build an integrated steel mill in Louisiana. "We will invest $21 billion (about 31 trillion won) in the US over the next four years," Chung said. President Trump responded, "Hyundai is an excellent company that doesn't have to pay tariffs."

This announcement marks the first direct investment declaration at the White House by a CEO of a Korean company since the launch of the Trump administration's second term. The message to strengthen US-based production from steel to automobiles is seen as a preemptive response to recent trade pressures, such as President Trump's proposed 25% tariff on imported cars, the reimposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, and reciprocal tariffs.

It is also expected that other major groups such as Samsung Electronics, SK, LG, POSCO, and Hanwha will likely expand their investments in the US. Jang Sangshik, Head of the International Trade & Commerce Research Institute at the Korea International Trade Association, commented, "Hyundai will become a representative case of building a complete value chain in the US," and added, "This could accelerate other Korean companies' decisions to invest in the US."

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Samsung Electronics, which is building a $17 billion semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, is considering additional investments that would be two to three times the scale of its current projects, including a second plant. SK Group is reviewing expansion of its US investments in various fields such as batteries (SK On) and semiconductor post-processing (SK Hynix), while SK Innovation is discussing the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Alaska as part of a Korea-US public-private energy cooperation project. LG is currently constructing its own battery plant in Arizona and plans to establish a next-generation battery R&D hub in the future.

With Hyundai Steel announcing a $5.8 billion investment to build an integrated steel mill in the US with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tons, POSCO is also expected to accelerate its review of local production of eco-friendly steel products in the US. Hanwha is expected to expand local production and exports of domestically developed weapon systems in the US, focusing on aerospace, satellites, launch vehicles, and self-propelled artillery.

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An industry insider said, "Hyundai has fired the starting gun for investment," adding, "Other companies are also likely to announce their investment plans sequentially as soon as coordination with the US government is complete."

Employees are commuting to Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seoul.

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Experts believe that Hyundai's announcement will influence the overall trend of increased US investment by Korean companies. Shin Wonkyu, Invited Research Fellow at the Federation of Korean Industries, explained, "Given Hyundai's sales and business expansion potential in the US market, there are sufficient conditions to expect the effects of preemptive investment," adding, "Companies with the capacity will pursue new investments, while those without may consider expanding existing facilities to leave a positive impression on the US government."