Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Top conglomerates announce massive domestic investments as tariff uncertainties cleared
President Lee Jae Myung salutes the national flag during a meeting with business leaders at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. From left in the front row are HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Lee, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Yeo Seung-joo. From left in the second row are presidential chief of staff Kim Yong-beom, Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
President meets biz leaders for follow-up talks on Korea-US fact sheet
The nation’s top conglomerates announced massive domestic investment plans worth hundreds of trillions of won Sunday, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and semiconductors, as well as other next-generation growth engines.
Their leaders unveiled these plans during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung at his office in central Seoul's Yongsan District. The meeting took place two days after their business uncertainties were cleared following the completion of a joint fact sheet between Korea and the United States regarding tariffs and security.
During the meeting, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun said the group would invest 125.2 trillion won ($86.4 billion) over five years from 2026, which is more than a 40 percent increase from its previous five-year investment of 89.1 trillion won.
The investment is aimed at bolstering Hyundai’s research and development capabilities, expanding production facilities and accelerating initiatives in AI, robotics, electrification and hydrogen-based mobility, which Chung said would reinforce the country’s position in the rapidly changing global mobility landscape.
“The key to the domestic investment will be fostering the AI and robotics industries and developing a green energy ecosystem. Through these, we will contribute to developing future technologies and reviving regional economies,” Chung said.
He said the group hired 7,200 people this year and plans to increase that number to 10,000 next year, largely in the areas of software-defined vehicles and mobility.
Notably, the group said it would support its primary suppliers by reflecting the tariffs already paid on parts and components for the group’s U.S. plants in Alabama and Georgia, in the purchasing prices retroactively. The U.S. had imposed 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts produced by Korean producers starting in April.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won also said his group’s domestic investment could surpass its initial plans of 128 trillion won by 2028, depending on future demand for advanced memory chips.
Chey added that SK’s investment into the massive fab projects in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, could reach “about 600 trillion won,” though the timeline would depend on global market conditions.
“We’ve hired more than 8,000 workers every year. When we open a fab, we add some 2,000 jobs. So if we speed up building the fabs, we expect to hire 14,000 to 20,000 people every year,” Chey said.
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong took a more cautious approach, saying that the agreement with Washington had provided “great relief” for exporters, and promising to create 60,000 domestic jobs.
Later in the day, Samsung said in a press release that it would invest 450 trillion won domestically over the next five years, including in research and development, emphasizing an aggressive expansion strategy focused on next-generation technologies.
The company will also soon start construction for its fifth plant at its Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, home to Samsung's chip manufacturing. Mass production is projected to start in 2028 to support the soaring AI-driven demand for advanced memory chips.
Samsung also announced regionally distributed investments such as new AI data centers in South Jeolla Province, a manufacturing line for industrial heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment in Gwangju and next-generation battery facilities in Ulsan.
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo said that the tariff agreement removed long-standing uncertainties, and stressed the need to strengthen Korea’s ecosystem for materials, parts and equipment. He pledged to allocate 60 percent of LG’s planned domestic investment of 100 trillion won to that sector, emphasizing the expansion of the industrial use of AI to improve productivity.
Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Yeo Seung-joo emphasized the importance of the nuclear-powered submarine agreement included in the fact sheet, describing it as a “major step” for national security. He outlined Hanwha’s plans for expanding its U.S. shipyard and stressed that overseas projects would create new opportunities for Korean suppliers rather than replacing domestic production. He added that Hanwha will invest approximately 11 trillion won in Korea over the next five years in defense and shipbuilding.
HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun outlined the group’s growing partnerships with U.S. shipbuilders, defense contractors and universities, as Washington aims to rebuild its naval production capabilities. He announced that the group intends to invest heavily in AI-based smart shipyards in Korea, and highlighted the importance of achieving regulatory flexibility in the U.S. to enable closer collaboration on naval hull construction.
He reaffirmed that investments in domestic shipbuilding — including smart yard projects at Daebul Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province — would proceed in parallel, supporting regional development.
Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin emphasized the opportunities created by the tariff agreement for advancing Korea’s position in the global biopharmaceutical industry. He outlined plans to invest 4 trillion won in facilities at Incheon’s Songdo; Osong in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; and Yesan, South Chungcheong Province; and said that the company aims to increase its annual R&D spending to over 1 trillion won within two years. Seo also called for closer collaboration with the government to align Korea’s clinical trial standards with those in the U.S. and Europe, arguing that this would significantly reduce costs for drug developers.
President Lee thanked the executives for supporting the government’s efforts, stating that the objective of the negotiations was “not to secure new advantages, but rather to prevent an already challenging situation from deteriorating further.”
“The administration will collaborate closely with industry and the National Assembly to minimize uncertainty as the tariff rules progress through the U.S. legislative process,” he said.