The Peninsula

What Happened: Q2 2024

Selection of Q2 US-Korea Partnerships

 

Date	American Entity	Korean Entity	Project	Location
June 24	Exxon Mobil	SK On	MOU for Exxon Mobil to supply SK On with up to 100,000 tons of lithium for EV batteries.	Arkansas
June 20	Philly Shipyard	Hanwha	Purchase agreement for Hanwha to acquire ownership of Philly Shipyard for $100 million.	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 7	Intel	Upstage	Upstage to use Intel Core Ultra processors for its Solar Mini Large Language Model (LLM) for AI.	N/A
June 7	Williamson County, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)	Samsung	Opening of “Samsung Highway” improving transportation infrastructure in Southwest Taylor.	Williamson County, Texas
June 7	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)	Hyundai Rotem	$175.8 million order for Hyundai Rotem to provide double-decker trains to MBTA.	Massachusetts
June 5	Analog Devices	LG Energy Solution	MOU for cooperation on electric vehicle battery technology.	N/A
June 3	Microsoft	KT Corp	Partnership agreement to collaborate on AI, cloud, and IT projects.	N/A
May 29	Archer Aviation Inc.	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport	Archer Aviation to join the Korean government’s “Grand Challenge” Urban Air Mobility (UAM) commercialization project.	Korea
May 28	Lennox	Samsung	Joint venture known as Samsung Lennox HVAC North America to sell HVAC systems in the United States.	United States, Canada
May 23	US Department of Commerce	Absolics (SKC Affiliate)	Non-binding Preliminary Memorandum of Terms (PMT) for $75 million in CHIPS Act Funding awarded to Absolics for development of advanced semiconductor packaging technology.	Covington, Georgia
May 16	N/A	SeAH	Regulatory filing indicating plans  to build $155.3 million special alloy plant for products in the space industry	United States
April 24	Philly Shipyard	HD Hyundai Heavy Industries	MOU for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of US Navy and official vessels	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 23	EIG, MidOcean Energy	SK Earthon	MidOcean completes previously announced agreement to acquire SK’s 20 percent $256 million stake in Peru LNG	N/A
April 22	Blackstone Inc.	MBK Partners	Blackstone sells 71.25% stake in medicine wholesaler holding firm Geo-Young Corp to MBK Partners for ~$1.4 billion	N/A
April 18	State of New Jersey	SK Planet, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport	Korea selects the State of New Jersey as one of the locations for its K-City Network for smart city solutions, with SK Planet set to implement road surface ice accident detection technologies	New Jersey
April 15	US Department of Commerce	Samsung	CHIPS Act investment of $6.4 billion to chip plant to support new semiconductor manufacturing plant, and expansion of existing plant.	Taylor, Texas/Austin, Texas
April 14	Palantir Technologies	HD Hyundai	MOU between Palantir and HD Hyundai to develop AI-based unmanned surface vehicles (USVs)	N/A
April 11	L3Harris Technologies	HD Hyundai Heavy Industries	Business agreement to win orders for Canadian submarine projects.	N/A
April 11	GE Aerospace	HD Hyundai Heavy Industries	MOU to develop marine propulsion systems, cooperation on MRO projects.	N/A
April 1	Kataman	Korea Zinc	Korea Zinc acquires Kataman for $55 million to expand scrap metal recycling business	N/A

 

 

Trade and Diplomacy                     

June 26-28 – US-Korea-Japan Commerce Trilateral occurs between US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk Geun, and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Saito Ken in Washington, DC. On the margins of the meeting, the US Chamber of Commerce signs MOU with Korea’s Federation of Korean Industries and Japan’s Keidanren to increase trilateral business cooperation.  Also occurring was the US-Korea-Japan Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) Ministerial Meeting, SCCD Semiconductor Forum, US-Korea Standards Cooperation Forum, US-Korea Advanced Industry and Technology (KAIT) Cooperation Forum, and US-Korea Clean Energy Forum.

June 25-27 – The United States and Korea hold fourth round negotiations on Special Measures Agreement (SMA) for US troops in Korea. The US delegation is led by Linda Specht, while the Korean side is headed by Lee Tae-woo.

June 24 – US Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren and Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Park Jang-ho sign Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Korea on Diplomatic Intelligence Cooperation in Washington, DC.

June 23-26 – 2024 SelectUSA Investment Summit occurs in Washington, DC with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun attending.

June 21 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol meets with Eurasia Group Chairman Ian Bremmer in New York, discussing US-Korea economic security, Korea’s role in AI governance, and US domestic politics.

June 20 – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken engages in telephone meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol, discussing response plans to Russia-North Korea summit.

June 19 – Chairwoman of the Korea Society and former US Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens as well as Korea Society CEO Thomas Byrne meet with Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong in Seoul to discuss bilateral trade and broader US-Korea relations.

June 18 – Georgia Governor Brian Kemp meets with President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, including on electric vehicles and EV batteries.

June 14 – First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-Kyun holds telephone conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, discussing the visit by Vladimir Putin to North Korea on June 19.

June 13 – During visit to Korea Georgia Governor Brian Kemp meets with SK Innovation Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won and SK On Vice Chairman Yoo Jeong-joon, and Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon.

May 31-June 13 – As part of a two week visit to the United States, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong holds meetings with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to discuss cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor production, and virtual reality as well as Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg to discuss telecommunications cooperation.

June 5 – Senior Director for Technology and National Security at the US National Security Council Tarun Chhabra, Third Deputy Director of the National Security Office for Korea Wang Yun-jong, and Cabinet Counselor of Japan’s National Security Secretariat Yasuo Takamura engage in the Fourth US-Korea-Japan Economic and Security Dialogue in San Diego.

June 5 – The United States, Korea, and Japan, India, and the European Union launch an inaugural meeting of the Public-Private Joint Biopharmaceutical Alliance in San Diego.

May 31 – Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Vice Foreign Ministers for Korean and Japan Hong Kyun Kim and Masataka Okana meet in Virginia for trilateral talks.

May 26-27 – Korea, China, and Japan hold their first trilateral summit since 2019 in Seoul attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Premier Li Qiang.

May 24 – Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) Minister Ahn Dukgeun holds meeting in Seoul with RAND Corporation CEO Jason Matheny to discuss US-Korea trade and security issues.

May 15 – The United States and Korea establish a bilateral steel customs Electronic Certification System (eCERT) to facilitate export quota management. An opening ceremony at US Customs and Border Protection in Washington, DC is held with representatives from Korea’s MOTIE and Customs Service.

May 14-15 – Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong travels to Atlanta, Georgia visiting the West Point, Georgia Kia plant and Georgia Institute of Technology; additionally meeting with members of the Korean Corporations Alliance of the Southeast (KOCAS).

May 9 – Ministry of Economy and Finance Vice Minister Kim Byoung-hwan meets with Citibank Vice Chairman of Banking and Capital Markets Jay Collins in Seoul to discuss Korea’s Corporate Value-up program and FX market improvements.

May 9 – U.S. e-mobility company BorgWarner’s establishes $43.5 mission Future Mobility Electrification Driving System R&D Center at Daegu’s National Industrial Complex. Director General for Cross-Border Investment Policy Park Deok-yeol attends its completion ceremony.

May 6 – US Department of the Treasury and the IRS release final rule exempting graphite from the critical minerals sourcing requirement for Inflation Reduction Act electric vehicle tax credits until 2026.

May 3 – The United States makes preliminary decision to implement 43.5 percent anti-dumping tariff on aluminum extrusion imports from certain Korean firms.

April 27 – Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok meets virtually with global financial institutions including US firms Wellington Management, Artisan Partners, and Indus Capital Partners to discuss the direction of Korea’s Corporate Value-up program.

April 25 – Representatives from Korea’s Office of the President, MOTIE, Ministry of Justice, MOFA, and Korea Customs Service join US and Japanese counterparts for the Disruptive Technology Protection Network Summit in Washington, DC, an outcome of the 2023 Camp David Summit.

April 25 – Deputy Trade Minister Yang Byeong-nae met with Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui in Seoul to discuss US-Korea industrial cooperation in semiconductors.

April 22-26 – MOTIE’s Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) hosts the 13^th ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 Artificial Intelligence Plenary conference in Seoul, with over 270 AI experts from more than 40 countries, including the United States, attending.

April 23 – Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong holds video conference with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for discussions covering Korea’s battery supply chain investments in Tennessee.

April 17-19 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok visits Washington, DC to attend the US-Korea-Japan Finance Ministers’ meeting, G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting, and World Bank Development Committee Meeting, as well as meetings with S&P Global Ratings.

April 17 – US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok of Korea, and Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi hold the inaugural US-Korea-Japan Finance Ministers Meeting in Washington as a follow-up to the Camp David promise and release a joint statement.

April 15-17 – Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae visits Washington, DC and attends meetings with USTR and the US Department of Commerce where coordination on the US-Korea-Japan industry ministers meeting and US-ROK SCCD were discussed.

April 14-17 – US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield travels to Korea for the first time as part of her trip to Asia to discuss bilateral issues including threats from the DPRK.

April 12 – Launching of the US-Korea AI Working Group formally agreed to during the US-Korea Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Dialogue in December 2023.

April 10-12 – Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun visits Washington, DC for bilateral meetings with US counterparts including discussions on semiconductor export controls and critical minerals. While there he announced plans for the US-Korea SCCD to take place in Q2 as well as a US-Korea-Japan Industry Minister’s Meeting.

April 8 – Korea’s Fair Trade Commission Vice Chairman Cho Hong-sun attends the US Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s 2024 Enforcers Summit in Washington, DC.

April 4 – Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok hosts virtual meeting with global investors including US firms Wellington Management, Artisan Partners, and Indus Capital Partners to listen to opinions regarding Korea’s Corporate Value-up program.

April 3 – First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Byoung-hwan hosts BNY Mellon Chairman Hani Kablawi in Seoul where Korea’s recent market reforms were discussed.

April 2 – Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok hosts American Chamber of Commerce in Korea delegation for meeting on Korea’s potential to become an Asia-Pacific investment hub.

 

Tom Ramage is an Economic Policy Analyst at the Korea Economic Institute of America. The views expressed here are the author’s alone.

Photo from Shutterstock.

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