Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Top 30 groups to invest W149 tril.
By Kim Rahn
The nation’s top 30 conglomerates will invest a combined 149 trillion won this year in facility expansion and research and development (R&D), up 10 trillion won or 7.7 percent from last year.
They will also create 128,000 new jobs, up 2,000 or 1.5 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Thursday.
The plans were unveiled when heads of the business groups met with Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul.
Of the 149 trillion won, 61 percent, or 91.1 trillion won, will be used to expand facilities, the largest yearly amount ever. Another 29.4 trillion won will be for R&D, 13.8 percent up from last year’s spending.
Among the groups, Samsung plans to invest 49 trillion won, about 10 percent more than the amount it actually spent last year, 45 trillion won. Its original plan last year was 47.8 trillion won.
Samsung is also considering hiring some 26,100 people, a similar figure to last year’s.
Hyundai Motor Group said it would invest around 14.1 trillion won similar to last year’s.
SK plans to spend 16.6 trillion won, also about 10 percent more than last year’s actual spending.
LG’s investment scheme amounts to 20 trillion won, the largest ever. The company plans to spend 14 trillion won for facilities and 6 trillion won for R&D.
Minister Yoon stressed cooperation between the government and businesses for growth, saying the economic outlook is not altogether positive.
Major industries which will see large investment are manufacturing of cars, semiconductors, displays, communication services, chemical products and steel.
Auto companies plan to focus on R&D and producing new cars such as hybrids or electric vehicles. Semiconductor manufacturers will seek to expand their facilities for next-generation memory chips and system semiconductors.
Display panel suppliers will invest more in facilities for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television panels, while communication firms will build more long-term evolution (LTE) networks and improving connection quality. Petrochemical companies plan to build facilities for high value-added products.
“I appreciate your plans for investment amounting to 149 trillion won. I’ll make efforts to help you carry through your plans, such as easing regulations,” he said.
Yoon said the government will focus on recovering private consumption and laying the foundations for the creative economy.
“To fulfill the government’s goals, large-sized conglomerates’ investment and job creation is important. I ask you to carry out your plans without failure,” he said.
The ministry decided to hold an investment and employment council where government officials, the top 30 groups and economy-related organizations check their investment plans and find legal hurdles that obstruct their investment. The council will be held once every quarter.