President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. attracted 1.5 trillion won in investment from U.S. companies.

(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Cha Dae-woon = On the occasion of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s visit to the U.S. for the APEC summit, American companies including General Motors (GM) have pledged to invest about 1.5 trillion won (approximately $1.26 billion) in the automotive and semiconductor sectors in Korea.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on the 19th that GM, DuPont, IMC, and Ecolab, four American companies, have reported a total domestic investment of 1.5 trillion won (approximately $1.26 billion).

The government expects the investment from these four companies to generate an annual export increase and import replacement effect of over 4.5 trillion won.

However, the specific individual investment amounts of these four companies were not disclosed.

The Ministry of Industry self-praised that GM’s additional investment has become an opportunity to confirm that the government’s efforts to improve the investment environment, such as regulatory reform and system improvement, are leading to global companies’ investment in Korea.

Sylfan Amin, Senior Vice President of GM, met with President Yoon on the 15th (local time) on the occasion of the APEC CEO Summit and said, “The bold regulatory reform and system improvement in line with global standards by the Korean government have given us confidence in doing business in Korea,” and mentioned that “we will continue to increase production in Korea following the partnership over the past 20 years.”

DuPont plans to invest more than 200 billion won (approximately $168 million) to expand its semiconductor material and component production plant and research and development (R&D) center in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, in line with the plan to establish the world’s largest semiconductor cluster, and hire more than 100 new employees.

This is double the amount of investment reported to the Korean government on the occasion of President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. in September last year.

IMC, a subsidiary of the global investment company Berkshire Hathaway, will invest in the production facility for tungsten oxide used in semiconductor manufacturing processes or high-strength tool manufacturing.

Ecolab plans to invest in the production facility for high-purity nanoparticles (colloidal silica) essential for the production of CMP slurry, a semiconductor manufacturing abrasive. This is the first time the company has built a high-purity nanoparticle factory overseas in Korea.

Minister Bang Ki-sun of the Ministry of Industry said, “This investment will greatly contribute to strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance in advanced industries and stabilizing our semiconductor industry supply chain,” and added, “We will continue to improve the investment environment, including the follow-up support for investment and the demolition of killer regulations.”

cha@yna.co.kr