The investment made during President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to France
Six European cutting-edge companies pledged a combined $940 million worth of investment in Korea during President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to France, presidential spokesperson Lee Do Woon said in a news release on June 21.
There, six European companies announced plans to invest in Korea: Imerys, a French company for carbon black for secondary batteries; Umicore, a Belgian maker of cathode materials for use in such batteries; German electric vehicle parts manufacturer Continental AG; Equinor, a Norway-based energy company; Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a Danish investment firm specializing in wind farms; and British high-performance polymer giant Nylacast.
Imerys CEO Alessandro Dazza pledged to invest in a carbon black plant and more than double his company's output in Asia centered on Korea.
Wouter Ghyoot, Umicore Vice President for government affairs, said his company entered the nation 25 years ago and has a large cathode factory and research and development center. He added that Umicore will aggressively set up more such facilities.
Nylacast CEO Mussa Mahomed announced plans to build plants for shipbuilding and materials related to automotive steering technology.
In a conversation with the executives, President Yoon said, "Since its launch, our administration has made efforts to reform regulations and attract foreign investment based on liberalism and internationalism," urging them to consider the Korean and European markets as one and actively invest.
Thanking their investment in Korea, President Yoon added, "The Office of the President welcomes visits by foreign business figures at any time and is always waiting for them with an open door."
The latest investments bring the cumulative value of pledged foreign investment in Korea from January to this month to an estimated USD 16.54 billion (est. KRW 21.3 trillion).
This breaks the previous record for the first half of a year set in 2018 with USD 15.75 billion.
The investment announcement ceremony was President Yoon's fourth held during one of his overseas trips, following those in New York in September 2022, Davos, Switzerland, in January this year and Washington in April.
After wrapping up his three-day visit to France, President Yoon on June 22 flew to Vietnam for a state visit.
He and First Lady Kim Keon-hee in the morning arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on the presidential plane Code One for a three-day stay.
Through June 24, the president will hold summit talks with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and individual meetings with high-profile officials including Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.