Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today met with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. executives at their semiconductor campus in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and toured the facility on the third day of a three-nation economic development mission to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
“Texas and South Korea seek to drive the future of innovation by providing economic freedom and opportunity for our people,” said Governor Abbott. “Texas trades more than $32 billion in total with South Korea, making it our fourth largest trading partner. South Korea also ranks No. 1 in foreign direct investment in Texas, with South Korean companies like Samsung making key investments across our great state. Working together, our shared economies will discover and produce the goods and services of tomorrow.”
Kicking off the day in Pyeongtaek, Governor Abbott met with Samsung executives and toured the semiconductor campus—the world’s largest semiconductor production facility. The Governor visited the P1 line in the Pyeongtaek complex and was briefed on the company’s cutting-edge manufacturing operations at the complex. Governor Abbott reiterated Texas’ commitment to expanding Samsung’s growing presence in the state, as Texas is already home to Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor fab facilities located: two in Austin and one under construction in Taylor.
In April, Governor Abbott met with Samsung’s former President and CEO Kye Hyun Kyung and other executives at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin to celebrate Samsung’s continuing expansion in Texas with a total expected investment of more than $40 billion—the largest foreign direct investment in Texas history.
The Governor then joined executives from SeAH Group to announce their new steel manufacturing plant in Temple. This $110 million capital investment will create more than 100 new, good-paying jobs and marks a significant expansion of SeAH Group in Texas. SeAH Group is a South Korean-based holding company that specializes in steel products.
While Governor Abbott announced SeAH Group new steel manufacturing plant, First Lady Abbott and the rest of the Texas delegation attended a demonstration at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters. Kukkiwon was founded to inherit, develop, and promote the spirit and skills of Taekwondo, which is the cultural heritage of the Republic of Korea.
The Governor was joined at the third day of events by First Lady Cecilia Abbott, Secretary of State Jane Nelson, the Governor’s Economic Development & Tourism Office Executive Director Adriana Cruz, Texas Economic Development Corporation Board Secretary Adrian Cannady, Texas Economic Development Corporation President & CEO Aaron Demerson, and the Texas delegation. The goal of the trip is to deepen the already-strong economic and cultural partnerships with Texas, encourage expanded trade in critical industries, and attract new business investments to Texas.
The following events are scheduled for the fourth day of the economic development mission in Japan:
- Meet with Toyota executives and Toyota suppliers
- Meeting with Aisin President
South Korea leads all nations for foreign direct investment by amount of total capital investment in Texas over the last decade. Over the past 10 full years through 2023, companies from South Korea have invested $20.59 billion in 38 projects creating more than 7,000 jobs in Texas. In the first five months of 2024, South Korean companies have invested $27.52 billion in nine additional projects expected to create more than 4,800 new jobs in Texas. Texas trade with South Korea totaled $32 billion in 2023, making South Korea the fourth-largest total trade partner with Texas.
The trip is sponsored and paid for by the Texas Economic Development Corporation, an independently funded and operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization responsible for marketing and promoting Texas as a premier business location. Along with the Governor’s Economic Development & Tourism Office, these two organizations are the cornerstone of Governor Abbott’s economic development agenda to build a bigger, better Texas.
