South Korea's Yoon touts U.S. tech partnership, secures $5.9 bln investment (updated)
25/04/2023 18:42
(Adds investment deals, background; paragraphs 13-20)
By David Lawder, David Shepardson and Hyonhee Shin
WASHINGTON/SEOUL, April 25 (Reuters) - South Korean
President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday the South Korean-U.S.
alliance must "leap into a new phase" to jointly overcome
complex crises, including slowing economic growth, technology
competition with strategic rivals and climate change.
Speaking a day before a Washington summit with President Joe
Biden, Yoon told an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
the bilateral security alliance should "evolve into a supply
chain and future-oriented, innovative-technology alliance."
He said the two countries' economies had been facing new
challenges and the economic slowdown was unsettling the
investment environment.
"Competition for technological hegemony, energy issues and
climate crises are casting more uncertainties on business
activity day by day," Yoon said.
Yoon said that from a joint venture involving a South Korean
and a U.S. firm in 1965, South Korea had risen to become the
global leader in memory semiconductor production, accounting for
60% of global market share.
"This cooperation should extend beyond semiconductors to
future emerging technologies such as AI, Quantum, SMR (Small
Modular Reactors) and more," Yoon said.
Core technologies from the United States and South Korea's
advanced manufacturing capabilities would "create enormous
synergies that will benefit both countries," he said.
Yoon said he hoped that during his visit the countries would
reaffirm their status as true allies and advanced technology
partners to create innovative business opportunities.
"Our bilateral investments need to be expanded both
quantitatively and qualitatively, to build more stable and
resilient supply chains."
He said the two nations were the ideal partners for
"friend-shoring" - a reference to a U.S.-led process of reducing
dependence on China for key goods and materials although he made
no mention of China by name.
Yoon said his government was working to create a fair and
predictable market environment, offer significant tax credits
and improve regulations to facilitate bold investments by U.S.
companies.
"The Republic of Korea and the United States have been
painting a wonderful rough sketch together for the past 70
years," he said. "The next 70 years together will be a journey
of filling the rough sketch with well-matched colors."
INVESTMENT DEALS
Yoon has pledged to serve as the country's "No. 1 salesman",
making business diplomacy a key element of his overseas trips.
Yoon's senior economic secretary, Choi Sang-mok, said Seoul
has secured a total of $5.9 billion in investment from eight
U.S. firms so far, including $2.5 billion from media giant
Netflix NFLX.O and $1.5 billion from industrial firm Corning
Inc GLW.N .
Six other tech companies which attended the event have
together pledged $1.9 billion, including Air Products and
Chemicals Inc APD.N , Plug Power Inc PLUG.O , ON Semiconductor
Corp ON.O , Greene Tweed & Co Inc, Purecycle Technologies Inc
PCT.OQ and EMP Belstar.
"Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the alliance, we
were able to see at a glance that an advanced supply chain and
technology alliance between the two countries was already being
strengthened and established," Choi told a briefing.
Yoon is accompanied by more than 120 executives from South
Korea's biggest companies, including Samsung Electronics
005930.KS Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor
Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, both of whom attended the
event.
Earlier on Tuesday, General Motors Co GM.N and Samsung
SDI 006400.KS announced plans to invest more than $3 billion
to jointly build an electric car battery plant in the U.S.
Hyundai Motor Co 005380.KS also said it has finalised
a $5 billion electric vehicle battery joint venture in the U.S.
with SK On, a battery unit of SK Innovation Co Ltd 096770.KS
(Reporting by David Lawder, David Shephardson, David Brunnstrom
and Ismail Shakil in Washington and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul;
Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
((david.brunnstrom@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202 354 5835;
Twitter: @davidbrunnstrom;))