Economic Delegation
Chairman Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group, Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan of Hanwha, and Chairman Koo Ja-yeon of LS are among the conglomerate heads accompanying President Yoon Suk-yeol on his visit to Europe. Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group, and Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group will not be accompanying them.
On July 6, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced a list of 89 companies participating in the economic delegation accompanying President Yoon’s visit to Poland. The list includes 24 conglomerates, 41 small and medium-sized enterprises, 17 public enterprises and institutions, and 7 economic organizations and associations. It’s slightly smaller than half the size of the largest-ever economic delegation during the state visit to Vietnam last month, which had 205 participants.
This is the first visit by a Korean president to Poland in 14 years, since former President Lee Myung-bak’s visit in 2009. This year, the two countries are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership. Poland recorded the largest-ever trade volume with Korea last year. Korea’s exports to Poland last year amounted to US$7.858 billion, more than doubling in five years. Recently, it has been attracting attention as a forward base for Korean companies aiming to penetrate the European market. Samsung Electronics is operating a home appliance manufacturing plant in Poland, and LG Energy Solution is operating a battery factory.
Among the owners of the four major groups, only Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is included in this delegation. LG considers Poland as a key hub in Europe for its major businesses, such as batteries and home appliances. Besides LG Energy Solution, LG Electronics and LG Innotek are also operating factories locally. In particular, the LG Energy Solution factory in Wroclaw, which has the world’s largest production capacity (70 GWh per year), is supplying batteries to automakers in Europe and the United States. Chairman Koo visited there in October last year to inspect the production site and encourage the employees.
Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan is also joining the delegation to foster economic cooperation with Poland, which has recently become a significant player in Korea’s defense industry. Hanwha Aerospace has secured contracts worth over 8 trillion won (US$6.1 billion) from Poland, which is expanding its military expenditure due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including K9 self-propelled howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). Hyundai Rotem, which exports K2 tanks to Poland, is also on the list.
Samsung Electronics is represented by Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee instead of Chairman Lee Jae-yong. It is known that Chairman Lee will focus on domestic business activities for the time being. Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as the chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will not attend, as the schedule overlaps with the Jeju Forum, the annual major event of the Chamber.
Other economic organizations in the delegation include the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), represented by Kim Byung-joon, the acting chairman, and six other associations such as the Hydrogen Fusion Alliance (Chairman Moon Jae-do) and the Overseas Construction Association (Chairman Park Sun-ho).