U.S. President will discuss direct investment
U.S. President Joe Biden will have a video conference with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won with regards to the group’s investment in the United States, the White House said on July 26.The virtual meeting will take place on early July 27 as a part of the U.S. government’s efforts to boost foreign investments, according to the White House.Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will also take part in the meeting from the U.S. side.SK Group has such affiliates as SK hynix and SK Innovation under its wing. The former is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of memory chips, and the latter is one of the world’s top battery makers.Both SK hynix and SK Innovation have major investment plans in the United States.For example, SK Innovation is scheduled to spend almost $9 billion together with Ford Motor to build battery facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky.In late 2021, Chairman Chey announced that SK would invest $52 billion in the U.S. by 2030, with half of them going toward eco-friendly fields, including electric car batteries and energy solutions.This is not the first time for the U.S. president to have one-on-one meetings with South Korean conglomerates.When he visited Seoul in May, Biden had a meeting with Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun. Hyundai Motor is South Korea’s largest automaker.Back then, Biden also visited a Samsung plant to have a meeting with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto leader of the country’s top conglomerate.“Biden shows that U.S. politicians are ready to do anything to encourage investments into his country,” Prof. Seo Yong-gu at Sookmyung Women’s University said.“Our politicians and government officials are also required to have such proactive stances in attracting foreign investments.”이 기사를 공유합니다
Tim Kim
(voc200@gmail.com)