The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 23rd that during President Yoon Seok-yeol’s first visit to the United States, it had achieved the result of attracting a total of $1.15 billion in investment, including a research and development (R&D) center for establishing a key supply chain related to national strategic technologies such as semiconductors and secondary batteries. .
Through the investment of North American companies in key industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, the supply chain and technological cooperation between Korea and North America has been further strengthened amid the global supply chain crisis caused by COVID-19 and geopolitical conflicts and the intensifying high-tech competition between countries. expected to be strengthened.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the ‘North American Investment Reporting Ceremony and Investor Roundtable’ in New York on the morning of the 22nd (local time) while President Yoon officially visited the United States to attend the UN General Assembly.
The event was attended by President Yoon, Minister of Industry Lee Chang-yang, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) President Yoo Jeong-yeol, and US semiconductor, bio, secondary battery, renewable energy, automobile and aviation representatives.
At the investment declaration ceremony on the same day, seven North American companies submitted foreign investment declarations worth a total of $1.15 billion to the Ministry of Industry in the semiconductor and electric vehicle sectors.
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This investment attraction is expected to contribute not only to domestic transfer of advanced technology but also to fostering high-level technical manpower, as investments with high quality, such as R&D, go beyond simple manufacturing plants.
Investment in new and expansion of R&D centers such as DuPont and Integris, including Applied Materials, the world’s No. 1 semiconductor equipment company, in the semiconductor field, which is a key field of Korea-US supply chain, technology and economic security cooperation, will help secure a competitive advantage in the domestic semiconductor industry and improve the competitiveness of the Korean semiconductor industry. – It is expected to greatly contribute to strengthening cooperation in the US supply chain.
In particular, as all of the world’s four largest semiconductor equipment companies, including the Applied Materials R&D Center, are actively expanding their investments in Korea, it is expected to have a very positive impact on strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem and supply chain, a national strategic technology field.
BorgWarner’s electric vehicle drive motor and Solid Energy System’s next-generation electric vehicle battery (lithium metal) R&D center are expected to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic electric vehicle industry by expanding the electric vehicle supply chain and enhancing technological capabilities.
Northland Power’s offshore wind farm construction and EMP Belstar’s eco-friendly cryogenic logistics network warehouse expansion are expected to have a very positive ripple effect on energy and industrial transformation for carbon neutrality.
Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said, “This investment is meaningful in that it is a high-quality investment that is highly connected to policy tasks such as strengthening the supply chain and promoting carbon neutrality. ” he said.
In order to attract this investment, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has been closely discussing investment conditions with each company along with KOTRA and local governments such as Gyeonggi-do and Daegu City, and plans to continue providing support so that it can contribute to the development of the domestic industry and employment expansion.
At the ‘Korea-North American Investor Roundtable’ that followed, representatives of 13 global companies that had already invested or were interested in Korea, including companies that participated in the investment declaration ceremony, attended.
The company representatives who attended the event shared their investment achievements in Korea and future cooperation plans, emphasizing that they would contribute to the creation of a stable industrial ecosystem through complementary supply chain cooperation with Korean companies.
In addition, companies that did not participate in the investment report announced additional investment plans in Korea, requesting expansion of incentives for foreign investment in high-tech industries and R&D, and support for securing talents in non-metropolitan areas.
In response, Minister Lee said, “To create a more attractive investment environment, we will actively promote investment incentives for high-tech industries and drastic improvement of regulations that are discriminatory to foreign-invested companies or do not conform to global standards.”
Inquiries: Investment Promotion Division, Investment Policy Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (044-203-4089)
