At the invitation of Mayor Kong Jae-kwang
Ambassador Myrat Mammetalyyev of Turkmenistan together with the ambassadors and senior diplomats of scores of other countries had a rare opportunity to tour the Pyeongtaek City, LG Electronics and the Second Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters in the City in a tour organized by The Korea Post on Aug. 17, 2016.
▲Photo shows Mayor Kong Jae-kwang of the Pyeongtaek City (seated fifth from left, front row) and Ambassador Myrat Mammetalyyev of Turkmenistan (dean of the visiting members of the Diplomatic Corps, sixth from left, the same row) with other ambassadors and senior diplomats visiting Pyeongtaek in a tour organized by The Korea Post on Aug. 17, 2016.
Participating in the tour, besides the Turkmenistani envoy, were Ambassadors Raul S. Hernandez of the Philippines, Elizabeth Nicol of Ghana, Mohamd Gello of Kenya, Sarun Charoensuwan of Thailand, Askar Beshimov of Kyrgyzstan, Sharifzoda Yusuf of Tajikstan, Sheidu Omeiza Momoh of Nigeria and Mrs. Zofia Mjika (on behalf the Polish ambassador); Charges d’Affaires Kiran Shakya of Nepal, Faith C. Mbula of Zambia and Daniel Ene of Romania of Romania; and many senior members of other embassies, including the European Union, Panama, .
Other countries represented in the tour by their senior diplomats included Ukraine, Zambia, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
As soon as the ambassadors and other senior members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps (SDC) arrived at the Pyeongtaek City Hall, they were all warmly received personally by Mayor Kong Jae-kwang of the Pyeongtaek City outside the entrance of the City Hall building in a rare display of warmth in welcoming the ambassadors other senior diplomats.
A warm welcome ceremony for the distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps was held at the City Hall conference room where each leading member of the City Government was introduced, which was followed by introduction of each ambassador and other senior member of the Diplomatic Corps present by Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post.
Introduction of the city leaders and the visiting members of the Diplomatic Corps was followed by a welcome speech of Mayor Kong.
He said in part: “The Pyeongtaek Port is the only port in the Gyeonggi Province which handles international trade and logistics in northeast Asia. The transportation network connects the port in all directions, industrial complexes, and sound infrastructure, which are making the City an ideal destination for doing business.
In particular, Samsung Electronics, the leading global giant of Korea, is constructing its new semi-conductor line with operation starting next year in 2017. What’s more, LG Electronics is competing to have a massive expansion of its current plant, making the City emerge as the most dynamic high-tech industrial city.” (See excerpts from his speech toward the end of this article.)
The tour began with the Samsung Electronics. However, the huge ‘Samsung Industrial Empire’ was still in the stage of ground preparation with few physical structures under construction. The guide said that the estate was as large as seven large soccer fields put together and the tour on board the buses too almost an hour touring the construction sites.
The next destination was LG Electronics where President Michael Hong of LG Material & Production Engineering Research Institute and Vice President Ha Yonho of LG Electronics greeted the visiting ambassadors with other leaders of the company.
Reception of the ambassadors and other visiting members of the Diplomatic Corps at LG Electronics began with a lunch hosted by President Hong and Vice President Ha. It was a buffet luncheon prepared by the company at the guest house. The food and beverage were excellent according to the ambassadors and other senior diplomats.
At a pre-luncheon welcome ceremony, President Hong said in part: “LG Electronics was founded as Gold Star in 1958, which was Korea’s pioneer manufacturer of radio, TV and refrigerators, and now LG is a leading global company with 80,000 employees working in 125 nations, continually striving to enrich and elevate the lives of its customers with innovative and inspiring products.” Then he said, “Currently, LG’s core business areas are organized into four future oriented business units, consisting of our Home Entertainment Business which centers on TV, Mobile Communication Company focusing on mobile phones, Home Appliance and Air Solution Company centering on washing machines, refrigerators, & air conditioners, and our Vehicle Components Company which focuses on the development of advanced technology automotive components.” (See excerpts at the end of this Article.)
Following the luncheon, the ambassadors and other senior diplomats were invited to tour a number of interesting places at the exhibition hall where they were shown a number of cutting-edge technological wonders, some of them yet to be disclosed to the general public.
The LG Electronics tour was followed by a visit to the Second Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters, which were responsible for the naval defense of the West Coast. The visiting ambassadors were invited to see many interesting sites, which included an exhibvition site of the ill-fated Battleship Cheonanhanm which sustained an unwarned attack from the North Korean Navy and was sunk in the West Sea (Yellow Sea).
PCC 772 Cheonsan-ham was a patrol frigate of the ROK Navy named after the Cheonan City. The frigate sank some 2.5 kilometers south of the Baengnyeong Island on the west coast while performing patrol duty on March 26, 2010. At the time, the ROK Navy Headquarters disclosed that the frigate was torpedoed by a North Korean Navy submarine.
Excerpts from the address of Mayor Kong Jae-kwang of Pyeongtaek City:
I would like to join the 470,000 citizens of Pyeongtaek in extending our sincere welcome to Your Excellencies, including His Excellency Ambassador Myrat Mammetalyyev of Turkmenistan and all the diplomatic envoys who are visiting the City of Pyeongtaek, which is the center of economy and an abundant and elegant city in the Republic of Korea.
The City of Pyeongtaek you are visiting today is situated in the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi Province in Korea. It is a beautiful complex city of agriculture and urbanization. As the City embraces endless plains, the West Sea, the Jinwicheon River and the Anseongcheon Stream, which traverse the east and the west, I have every confidence to say that Pyeongtaek is truly a clean and livable city.
To the west, Pyeongtaek port, the only port in Gyeonggi Province, handles trade and logistics in northeast Asia. The transportation network connecting the port in all directions, industrial complexes, and sound infrastructure are making the City an ideal destination for doing business.
In particular, Samsung Electronics, the leading global giant of Korea, is constructing its new semi-conductor line with operation starting next year in 2017. What’s more, LG Electronics is competing to have a massive expansion of its current plant, making the City emerge as the most dynamic high-tech industrial city.
Also, US military bases scattered across the nation will be relocated to the City. Once the relocation project is complete by year 2018, the US military population, including military service members in uniform, civilians, and families, will come to 42,000, enabling the City to develop itself as a truly international city both in name and reality.
Once again, I would like to welcome you during your visit to our City, where a blessed natural environment, a pleasant living atmosphere, strong industrial infrastructure, and diverse culture are in harmony with all the peoples of the world mingling together.
I hope that you will make beautiful memories that will be long held in your heart during your visit to our City, the City that continues to gain the world’s attention.
Excerpts from the welcome speech of President Michael Hong of LG MYPERI:
LG Electronics was founded as Gold Star in 1958, and was Korea’s pioneer manufacturer of radio, TV and refrigerators. LG is now a leading global company with eighty thousand employees working in 125 nations, continually striving to enrich and elevate the lives of its customers with innovative and inspiring products.
Currently, LG’s core business areas are organized into four future oriented business units, consisting of our Home Entertainment Business which centers on TV, Mobile Communication Company focusing on mobile phones, Home Appliance and Air Solution Company centering on washing machines, refrigerators, & air conditioners, and our Vehicle Components Company which focuses on the development of advanced technology automotive components.
Our company is proactively responding to climate change through the promotion of mutual green growth with our business partners, and the reinforcement of green business through highly efficient water treatment systems, lighting, solar energy solutions, and other leading-edge technologies.
Also, apart from business activities, LG Electronics is committed to fulfilling its role and responsibility as a leading global company to bring about meaningful changes to the global community. This entails living up to our corporate social responsibility by providing activities that coexist with regional communities, social contribution activities in Korea and overseas, and sustainably providing solutions to help resolve today’s critical global concerns.
To provide you with a first-hand view of some of our products and activities, we have prepared a special tour that will familiarize you with our new LG products, with their chic design and convenient features, and also showcase our advanced production line for our premium mobile phones.
We hope that your short time with us here in Pyeongtaek will be both enjoyable and informative, and leave you with an enhanced familiarity and appreciation for LG’s role in the global community.
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