Just two weeks ago, South Korea and the United States agreed to a sweeping bilateral trade agreement that will offer certainty to Korean companies looking to invest in the United States while offering new markets for American exports.
President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung are to be commended for putting the deal together, a deal that is especially remarkable considering President Lee was only elected on June 3 and had less than 60 days to assemble a government and dispatch a trade envoy to Washington, D.C.
Indeed, it speaks volumes about the importance of the U.S.-Korea relationship that has benefited both countries for decades.
It also shows that President Trump has a unique and keen understanding of the role South Korea plays and will continue to play in our nation’s economic development.
Largely flying under the radar in national headlines, South Korea has invested over $160 billion in the United States since Trump was first elected.
That investment has helped generate nearly one million new jobs with an impressive average salary of $106,000. And the momentum is only accelerating.
In March, the South Korean automotive company, Hyundai Motor Group, announced a monumental $21 billion investment in the United States, including a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana that will employ 1,400 workers.
This facility will supply steel for Hyundai’s cutting-edge $7.6 billion Metaplant in Bryan County, Georgia, which began operations six months earlier. Once fully operational, the plant will produce 500,000 electric and hybrid vehicles annually for Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands – marking the largest single economic development project in Georgia’s history.
These projects are part of Hyundai’s $12.6 billion investment in Georgia and the $20.5 billion they’ve spent nationwide since entering the U.S. market, resulting in more than 570,000 American jobs.
The Bryan County plant is Hyundai’s second major investment in Georgia. It comes a little more than 15 years after the Kia facility in West Point, Georgia, opened its doors.
At that facility, Georgians proudly build 350,000 vehicles annually.
These vehicles are exported to countries globally, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Mideast, and Pacific nations.
This investment has transformed Troup County, Georgia. Before Kia’s investment, Troup County had an unemployment rate near 14% – well above the state and national averages.
Today, the unemployment rate is 3.2%, below both averages.
At the same time, the tax digest for the City of West Point, Georgia, has increased 129% in the 15 years since Kia arrived.
A similar story has taken place in nearby Montgomery, Alabama.
Since it opened in May 2005 with around 2,000 jobs, Hyundai has invested $3 billion in its manufacturing facility in Montgomery, expanded the plant 16 times, and produced over 6.2 million vehicles.
Between those two states, Hyundai and Kia’s manufacturing facilities have attracted dozens of Tier 1 suppliers.
Kia’s arrival in West Point led to 30 supplier facilities and $950 million in local investment, creating 5,000 new jobs.
In Montgomery, Alabama, Hyundai accounts for nearly 20% of the city’s GDP.
Statewide, it delivers a $4.82 billion economic impact and supports 38,000 jobs.
What Hyundai is doing is being echoed by other Korean companies across the nation.
Samsung, which was the first foreign-headquartered company to manufacture semiconductors in the U.S., has invested over $18 billion in Texas, fueling innovation in the region for nearly three decades.
Building on this legacy, it has committed to invest an additional $37 billion to bolster domestic production of advanced semiconductors critical for cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing used in key industries like automotive and defense.
This investment alone has created over 15,500 jobs while reducing America’s dependence on foreign-manufactured semiconductor chips.
Tennessee is seeing its own renaissance.
Hankook Tires, which opened its first North American plant in Clarksville under the first Trump administration, is now doubling capacity with a new $1.6 billion investment, adding 1,200 jobs.
Nearby, LG Chem is constructing a $3.2 billion battery production facility that will create 860 high-paying jobs – nearly 300 of them paying over $100,000.
Beyond economic development, Korean investment in the United States is bolstering national security.
A $1.8 billion maintenance backlog on U.S. Navy ships led to early decommissioning of nine ships before the end of their expected service life.
With the $100 million purchase of the Philly Shipyard and Navy maintenance, repair, and overhaul contract, South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Company is helping restore fleet readiness.
Reviving U.S. manufacturing is a vital goal of the Trump administration.
With the new trade agreement and investment commitments from South Korea, President Trump has negotiated, and I am certain we can expect that goal to come to fruition.
With Korean President Lee in Washington, D.C. for a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump, I hope they will discuss further investment in the United States, particularly in Georgia.
South Korea is not just an ally – it’s a critical partner in building America’s future.
The South Korea-U.S. relationship is vitally important to the economy of Georgia and our neighboring states in the Southeast.
Thank you, President Donald J. Trump, for your bold leadership in ensuring that we keep that relationship strong going forward. Promises made, promises kept.
Rep. Buddy Carter has served as the U.S. representative for Georgia’s 1st Congressional District since 2015.
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