By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Group, the nation’s most powerful industrial conglomerate, will invest more than 50 trillion won this year in a move to create more jobs and support the government’s drive for a “creative economy,” according to Samsung officials Thursday.
“We plan to spend as much as 50.8 trillion won this year from last year’s 44 trillion won despite lingering market uncertainties. We will try hard to expand investment on facilities as best we can,” said a ranking Samsung executive in a brief meeting with The Korea Times, Thursday.
The group’s detailed investment plan was released a day after Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee expressed his intention to support the Park administration’s shared growth initiative at a breakfast meeting between President Park Geun-hye and an economic delegation in Washington D.C, Wednesday.
“We agree with the government’s move toward a creative economy. We will take a lead in strengthening our economic fundamentals by expanding investment and creating more jobs,” Lee said during the meeting.
The updated group-wide investment plan comes a few months after Samsung earlier said it was considering investing some 48 trillion won on facilities for 2013.
The plan indicates Samsung will push ahead with most of its investment plans abroad as planned.
The group is now building a flat-screen plant in the southern Chinese city of Suzhou and a flash memory chip plant in the western city of Xi’an, while expanding its logic chip-producing line in the local provincial city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
Samsung is the global top supplier in memory chips and flat-screen displays to be used in most digital devices from tablets, televisions, home appliances to smartphones.
Samsung officials said most of its spending will be used for its parts-related businesses with the OLED business expecting to receive significant investment as Samsung wants to strengthen its competitiveness in the components sector while its rivals are experiencing difficulties.
The president has placed top priority on creating quality jobs through hercalled-for “creative economy,” under which the government will seek to create synergy between information and communications technology (ICT) and industrial sectors.
Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong-koo, who is also accompanying the president and other business tycoons to the United States, said the world’s top-tier automotive group will invest over 7 trillion won exclusively for research and development (R&D) to improve the quality of products.
“Hyundai-Kia will expand our spending on R&D as Hyundai is ready to take a leading role to realize ‘creative economy’ in the local automotive industries,” Chung said during the meeting, adding it will closely collaborate with local parts suppliers to create more jobs.
LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo said his conglomerate will continue to hire more skilled technicians for corporate sustainability.
“LG will build more research centers and facilities to attract more qualified human resources regardless of nationality,” the chairman was quoted as saying.
LG plans to build a research center in Seoul to house some 1,500 engineers to develop next-generation technologies.