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LG, LS chiefs to accompany President Yoon on Poland visit
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, left, and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan / Korea Time file
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
A total of 89 leaders of state-run and private entities will accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his visit to Poland next week, according to the country's business lobby, Thursday. Yoon will be on a six-day trip to Poland and Lithuania from July 10 to 15.
Among them are LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (KFI).
Koo will visit the manufacturing facilities of the group's battery affiliate LG Energy Solution in Wrocław. Kim will seek to advance talks on the construction of defense equipment manufacturing plants in Poland. Hanwha plans to establish a corporate entity in Poland in the latter half, to expand its presence in the East European market where demand for defense equipment is soaring amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The FKI said about 63 percent of the leaders are in renewable energy, batteries, mobility and infrastructure ― promising growth-driver industries with great potential for bolstering the country's export performance.
The visit of the 89-member economic mission to the Eastern European country is significant, the business lobby said, because the presidential visit came 14 years after the last one on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership. The two countries' trade volume reached an all-time high of $8.95 billion (11.5 trillion won) in 2022.
The delegation will attend a variety of events, including the Korea-Poland Business Forum, followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) organized jointly by the FKI and the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.
A business networking event will be held for the two countries' business leaders to identify joint business opportunities and discuss ways to foster promising industries. The event will be organized by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
Of the 89, 24 are large conglomerates, 41 are small- and medium-sized firms, 17 are state-run organizations and seven are economic associations.