U.S. President Expected to Meet with Major Business Groups in South Korea

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to have a meeting on May 21 with the heads of Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group. In addition, he is likely to visit Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor plant in Yongin on May 22. The economic alliance of the United States and South Korea is expected to be strengthened.

According to industry sources, the meeting is to boost bilateral economic cooperation and investment in the United States so that economic security can be enhanced with regard to supply chains in the industries including EV battery and semiconductor.

At present, Samsung Electronics is planning to build a new foundry in the United States, where Hyundai Motor Group is about to build an EV plant and SK and LG are running EV battery manufacturing facilities. The United States is regarding these as key supply chain and job creation components.

Last year, the four business groups had a meeting with the U.S. Department of Commerce and announced a plan to invest 44 trillion won in the United States. The announcement was made during President Moon Jae-in’s stay in Washington D.C. and the U.S. president repeatedly expressed his gratitude for the plan.