Major business leaders, including Chey Tae Won, Chairman of SK Group; Kim Dong Kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group; and Koo Kwang Mo, Chairman of LG Group, have departed for Washington, D.C., to join the economic delegation accompanying the Korea-US summit.
President Lee Jae Myung is holding an economic leaders' meeting during his US-Japan tour at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 19th. From the left, Jang Jae Hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company; Lee Jae Yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; President Lee; Koo Kwang Mo, Chairman of LG Group; Park Ji Won, Vice Chairman of Doosan Group and Chairman of Doosan Enerbility. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Chairman Chey departed around 12:00 p.m. on the 24th through the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) in Gangseo-gu. When asked about his resolve as a member of the delegation, he replied, "I will do my best."
Kim Dong Kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, arrived at the departure hall at approximately 12:10 p.m., followed by Koo Kwang Mo, CEO of LG Group, at around 12:30 p.m. When asked about his determination, Koo responded with a serious expression and a brief greeting.
The delegation to the United States also includes Walter Cho, Chairman of Hanjin Group; Chung Ki Sun, President and CEO of HD Hyundai; Park Ji Won, Chairman of Doosan Enerbility; Seo Jung Jin, Chairman of Celltrion Group; Huh Tae Soo, Chairman of GS Group; Koo Ja Eun, Chairman of LS Group; Choi Yoon Bum, Chairman of Korea Zinc; and Choi Soo Yeon, CEO of Naver. Chung Eui Sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, is currently on a business trip and is expected to join the delegation directly.
The Korean business community is drawing attention as to whether there will be additional investments in the United States in connection with the Korea-US summit. SK Hynix is preparing to construct a semiconductor back-end process plant for next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) production by investing $3.87 billion (about 5 trillion won) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
SK On is operating two standalone plants, SK Battery America (SKBA), in the United States and plans to begin operations at the BlueOval SK (BOSK) Kentucky Plant 1, a joint venture with Ford, in the third quarter of this year. Three additional plants-two BOSK plants and one joint venture with Hyundai Motor-are also under construction with the goal of starting commercial operations by 2026. In total, SK On has built six plants in the United States, with a cumulative investment of approximately $10.8 billion.
LG Energy Solution operates North American production bases in Holland, Michigan; Ohio; and Tennessee. In June, the Holland, Michigan plant became the only major global battery manufacturer to begin mass production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems (ESS). Additionally, the company is building standalone plants in Lansing, Michigan and Arizona, as well as joint venture plants with Hyundai Motor in Georgia and Honda in Ohio.
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