Biden to meet Hyundai Motor chairman in Seoul

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to meet Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun on the last day of his trip to South Korea. U.S. saying ‘kDoomsday Plane’ flies to Japan along with Biden’s trip to S. Korea Jake Sullivan announced that President Biden will see Chairman Chung on Sunday morning presumably at Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul where he stays.

Hyundai Motor Group intends to release a plan that is estimated at several trillions to build manufacturing facilities for electronic vehicles in Savannah, Georgia. The move will be made to put a 7.4-billion-dollar investment plan in the Unites States released last May into action. Governor of Georgia Brian P. Kemp also signaled that he would make a “special economic development announcement” early on Saturday morning. The State of Georgia is one of the most fiercely competing regions in the U.S. elections in November. That is why the United State pays a great deal of attention to Hyundai’s investment.

Some expect that Chairman Chung will brief President Biden on UAM (urban air mobility), robotics, self-driven vehicles and other future core mobility projects. Hyundai Motor Group runs “Supernal” for the UAM project and the autonomous driving joint venture “Motional” in the United States.

President Biden is expected to see leading South Korean business owners at a banquet that will be held by President Yoon on Saturday. Business leaders in attendance will discuss with U.S. attendees ways to enhance bilateral economic and security cooperation in terms of semiconductors, battery technology, EVs, biotech, photovoltaic technology and artificial intelligence. Around 50 South Korean business leaders will attend the presidential banquet including Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries Huh Chang-soo and other economic organizational heads.


Gun-Huk Lee gun@donga.com