Southeast U.S. Summit: For Korean Investment Wave to Keep Rolling, Firms Need Policy Continuity, Talent Access

If the Korean wave is to swell even higher in the South, investors will need policy continuity, creative solutions to tap skilled labor and even better relationships with the communities where they’re embedded. 

That consensus animated gathering of Korean officials and high-level representatives from Southern states seeing tens of billions of dollars in cumulative Korean capital infused in their economies over the last two decades. 

While much of it has centered around the automotive sector, experts see the relationship expanding to other future-oriented industries like clean energy and semiconductors, where the strategic geopolitical interests of the U.S. and Korea are aligned as allies. 

After visiting Kia Motors in West Point, Sun-Young Kim, deputy director general for bilateral economic affairs at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, praised policies like state tax credits on job-creation and research that have helped Korean firms reduce costs and stay competitive. 

But she has been hearing that firms are having a tough time commissioning their factories due to lack of access to technically trained personnel. 

“To address this issue, the Korean government is seeking a dedicated visa quota for Korean professionals to facilitate short-term stays of states in the U.S.,” Ms. Kim said. 

She urged the state officials to lobby Congress for the Partner With Korea Act, which has languished for 12 years. The act proposes a special category of visas for 15,000 skilled professionals from Korea per year. Because it would include no path to residency or citizenship, Ms. Kim stressed that this shouldn’t be hindered by immigration concerns. 

“This is a competitiveness issue for the Korean for American workers and the American manufacturing industry,” she said. 

Indeed, some Korean firms have landed in hot water by using questionable means to bring in talent as they build factories at breakneck speed. 

In one high-profile incident in U.S. authorities denied entry to more than 30 Korean arrivals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, alleging they were trying to skirt visa requirements by performing technical labor after coming in via the visa waiver program, which allows tourism and business visits of up to 90 days. Another 13 were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allowed to return to Korea voluntarily.

Around the same time, some legislators complained that Korean workers were displacing Americans at SK Battery’s factory in Commerce. 

U.S. law allows for technicians to enter the country for commissioning equipment purchased overseas, but slow processing can create problems for firms seeking to meet aggressive deadlines. 

Trade Follows Investment but Needs Continuity

Visiting from Washington, Hyun-jung Je of the Korea International Trade Agency, or KITA, said the Southeast U.S.-focused investment wave has also kicked off record trade in parts and raw materials fueling growing factories. 

“There can be many reasons for that, but I think one of the main factors is Korea’s increasing invest in the U.S., because always trade follows investment,” said Ms. Je, KITA’s chief representative in Washington.  

Korea became the sixth largest U.S. trading partner in 2023, with $181 billion in bilateral trade. 

Perhaps more surprisingly the U.S. overtook China as Korea’s top export destination for the first time in 22 years, Ms. Je said, and the trend is on pace to continue in 2024 — barring any surprises. 

With the question marks surrounding the U.S. elections in November, that’s a big if, she said. 

“We have some concerns about the policy change that can be possible or not. We have so many questions,” Ms. Je said. “If the policy, especially green transition and energy policy, changes, I think that will affect a lot on company decisions to invest more in the future.” 

She urged Southern states to add their voices to the chorus of those encouraging continuity with the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, positions that could prove challenging given the politics of the region. 

Republican leaders like Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp have questioned rising inflation and the use of tax dollars to pick winners, even as Korean investors in solar panels (Qcells), batteries (SK)and semiconductor substrates (Absolics) have credited the Biden administration’s industrial policies with fostering the certainty they need to commit such large sums in the state. 

Qcells, already the largest maker of solar panels in North America, just landed preliminary approval for a $1.45 billion federal loan for a Cartersville expansion that executives said may otherwise have been stalled by Chinese competition.  

Ms. Je noted that in some sectors, economic security is now taking precedence over profit. She argued that U.S. knowhow and Korean manufacturing prowess can align in sectors like energy and chips to make each more safe and competitive. 

Ms. Kim chimed in to say a “perfect synergy” can be achieved given the two countries’ shared values like the democracy, the rule of law and multilateralism. While companies are having success in the U.S., they’ll face challenges from other global actors, she said, pointing to the electric vehicle segment. 

“They are doing very well, but we all know that the Chinese companies will be competitive in this field, not only within China, but also in the world market, so I think that with collaboration and cooperation between the U.S. companies and Korean companies, we can make a really different landscape.” 

Deepening Community Engagement, Cultural Literacy

To maximize the partnership, state leaders on the panel called for Korean companies to invest not only dollars, but time and cultural in serving the communities where they’re investing — especially if they want to be a preferred employer in a tight time for labor access. 

“Economic development in Georgia is led by the communities,” said Kristi Brigman, deputy commissioner for global commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “And so when a company chooses a community to land in, they really do need to become active members of the community to really see the success that they’re hoping for.” 

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart  McWhorter says companies “must fall in love with communities,” said Hee-jung Shin, the state’s representative in Korea. 

“Building the relationship with the local stakeholders, including government and residents, is key to ensuring that both the companies and Tennessee grow side by side,” said Ms. Shin. 

Harry Lightsey, commerce secretary for South Carolina, outlined how one community is making undemanding a reciprocal endeavor. 

“In Newberry, S.C., where Samsung is located, and many other Korean companies, we have a Korea day, which is a celebration of the whole community, of the partnership that we have, and of the importance of the Korean companies to that community.” 

Mr. Lightsey added that Korean firms are invited to be a part of SC Nexus, a U.S. Commerce Department-backed new-energy initiative, and noted that the state would partner with companies looking to commercialize their innovations.

Florida has already seen some Korean investment in that space, as LowCarbon Hydrogen has committed to a plant in the state’s Polk County to bring the fuel to space and aerospace applications, according to Madison Lawson, senior manager for foreign investment in Florida. 

It’s imperative, too, that local and state leaders from government and economic development show up with regularity in Korea, said Ellen McNair, secretary of commerce for Alabama. 

“When you see them in your states, that’s one thing, but when you travel to Ulsan or Daegu or Seoul and you see them in their communities, I think that is an incredible opportunity for understanding and a good basis for future partnerships,” Ms. McNair said. 

Georgia achieved that this year as Mr. Kemp traveled to the country for his second time in advance of next year’s 40th anniversary of the state’s office in Seoul. It’s indicative of the state’s “long-term approach” to investment relationships, said Ms. Brigman. 

The panel was moderated by Jae Kim, president of the Southeast-U.S. Korea Chamber of Commerce and Aprio‘s Korea desk leader.

How the States Stack Up 

Organized by the Consulate General of Korea in Atlanta, the one-day conclave in Gwinnett County was designed to celebrate the transformative economic bonds that have been formed while charting a course for the next decade of Korean growth across the six states and two territories the consulate covers. 

Structurally, the meeting resembled other regional alliances the Southeast has long enjoyed with Japan and Canada, which both have yearly check-in meetings that alternate between the country and the Southeast U.S. region.

At the Gwinnett event, each state’s representatives chimed in with trade and investment figures showing how economic engagement with Korea is benefiting them.

Here are some of the numbers, as relayed by their delegates to the conference: 

Alabama 

Panel representative: Ellen McNair, Secretary of Commerce

Investment: 110 companies with $10 billion in capital

Jobs created: 30,000

Trade: $6.6 billion 

Florida

Panel representative: Madison Lawson, Senior Manager, Foreign Direct Investment, SelectFlorida

Investment: 

Jobs created: 400

Trade: $2.1 billion 

Intangibles: 

• 18,000 Korean-born residents in Florida
• Gov. Ron DeSantis and other leaders have visited Korea twice. 
• Jacksonville maintains a sister city with Changwon province. 
• State of Florida has a sister state relationship with Gyeonggi province. 

Georgia 

Panel representative: Kristi Brigman, Deputy Commissioner Global Commerce

Investment: Korea is the top investor in the state for three years running. 100+ companies, with $10 billion from Korea and 12,600 jobs promised in fiscal 2023

Trade: $16 billion in 2023, about 10 percent of overall trade

North Carolina 

Panel representative: N/A

South Carolina 

Panel representative: Harry M. Lightsey III, Secretary of Commerce

Investment: $687 million since 2003

Trade: $1.4 billion in exports to Korea

Jobs created: 3,454 jobs supported by exports — Source

Intangibles: Operates an office in Seoul run by Sunhee Kim, who attended the event; Korean firms are part of an automotive supply chain that employs 75,000 people in South Carolina 

Tennessee 

Panel representative: Hee Jung Shin, Representative, State of Tennessee Korea Office, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Investment: 30 Korean companies, with 21 announcing new investments since 2017 of $12.7 billion and 10,000 jobs promised