Top 10 Conglomerates to Invest 270 Trillion Won in Regions Over 5 Years... Korea Business Leaders Association: "Business Community to Reach 300 Trillion Won"

The 10 leading conglomerates plan to invest a total of 270 trillion won in regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area over the next five years starting this year. The plan is to push ahead with large-scale investments to revitalize regional economies and create youth employment.

The Korea Business Leaders Association announced this on the 4th through a "Regional Investment Plan Survey" conducted on the 10 major conglomerate groups. The 10 groups include Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, Lotte, Posco, Hanwha, HD Hyundai, GS, and Hanjin.

At the "Corporate Meeting on Youth Employment and Expanding Regional Investment" held that afternoon at the main building of the Blue House, Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Business Leaders Association, responded to President Lee Jaemyung, who requested youth recruitment, support for start-ups, and fostering of regional economies, by saying, "We will actively contribute to youth employment and revitalizing regional economies," and added, "The 10 major groups are currently planning regional investments of about 270 trillion won over five years. If we include companies other than these 10 groups, I believe the amount could reach around 300 trillion won."

Lee Jaeyong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Economic Association, are talking at the "Business Meeting for Youth Employment and the Expansion of Regional Investment" held at the Blue House on the 4th. Yonhap News.

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He continued, "We will also actively promote job training for employment, on-site internships, and customized training," and said, "We ask the government to provide bold support so that there will be no setbacks in companies' recruitment and employment plans."

The meeting was attended by the management of the 10 major groups, including Lee Jaeyong, chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chung Euisun, chairman of Hyundai Motor; Koo Kwangmo, chairman of LG; Shin Dongbin, chairman of Lotte; Jang Inhwa, chairman of Posco; Kim Dongkwan, vice chairman of Hanwha; Chung Kisun, chairman of HD Hyundai; Huh Taesu, chairman of GS; Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin; and Choi Changwon, vice chairman of SK. Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Business Leaders Association, and Park Iljun, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also attended.

The major investment projects include: expanding semiconductor facilities; expanding battery production and R&D (research and development) capabilities; and investing in AI transformation and carbon-neutral infrastructure. These investments are planned to focus mainly on advanced and strategic industries.

The Korea Business Leaders Association interpreted this as major groups designating regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area as core bases for their future businesses and preemptively moving to invest in building regional industrial ecosystems. It also stated that if all of the 10 groups' regional investment plans are executed as scheduled, they could generate up to 525 trillion won in production inducement effects and 221 trillion won in value-added inducement effects in the Korean economy over the next five years.

Lee Sangho, head of the Economic Division at the Korea Business Leaders Association, said, "Companies are taking the lead in rekindling the spark of regional economic vitality and laying the groundwork to ease youth unemployment," and added, "To ensure that the planned regional investments can be carried out smoothly, the government, the National Assembly, and local governments must remove hurdles such as regulations on site selection and permits and licenses, and swiftly provide active support through tax incentives and subsidies."

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