An Abundant October for Arkansas-Korea Business Ties

October was another eventful month for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission 's engagement with South Korean businesses and organizations, both stateside and on the ground in Korea. Firstly, AEDC Executive Director, Clint O'Neal, CEcD , and International Business Development Manager, Ben W. , presented to a cohort of Korean executives & policy leaders in Houston, then hosted Arkansas’ booth at the Hansang World Korean Business Convention in Anaheim.

Around this same time I also spent a few jam-packed days in-and-around Seoul, representing Arkansas at U.S. investment seminars, while also meeting with our active prospect & existing investor companies.

The first of these events was the ASOK-KITA ‘Doing Business in the U.S. Seminar’, held at the World Trade Center Seoul. Co-hosted by the Association of American State Offices in Korea and the Korea International Trade Association, this workshop was a deep dive into processes for business structuring, site selection, hiring & training staff, and other fundamentals. It was a timely opportunity to present on Arkansas’ business climate to some 40 Korean companies across diverse sectors.

Leaders from the U.S. Commercial Service, ASOK, KITA, and cross-border consultancies offered keynotes encouraging further Korean FDI amid a trend towards locating in America. Following the seminar were 1-on-1 sessions with firms considering our region, letting us make the case for Arkansas at the personal level. A massive thanks is due to the organizers and speakers for this focused platform.

The next few days were dedicated to a series of trade shows & exhibitions: The Korea Auto Industry & Global TransporTech Show, Korea Metal Week, Tech Inside 2023, the Korea Electronics Show (KES 2023), and the Semiconductor Expo (SEDEX 2023). Many of these shows’ focal industries dovetail with Arkansas’ established expertise as a state (mobility, supply chain, steelmaking, IT), while others allowed for face time with key Korean ground-breakers in chips, advanced materials, renewable energy, and embedded precision technologies. ??

Korean mobility firms are especially keen to integrate into the thriving U.S. market. Arkansas, with our state-level focus on the ‘Future Mobility’ industry, offers them an express lane for market entry & development. Most exhibitions dedicated large tracts of floor space to cutting-edge automated vehicle tech, electric vehicles, innovative supply chain solutions, and the chips & software that enable these. Connecting the dots to facilitate growth in this crucial cluster is a key priority for the AEDC, so these were great opportunities exchange updates and stay squarely in the mix.

It was also wonderful reconnecting with teams from many Korean companies already invested in Arkansas, including Samsung Corp., LG Electronics, Shinwon Corp., and Kiswire Ltd. Kiswire, a steel products maker employing some 170 in Jefferson County, continues to see rapid growth in North America. Global demand has leapt for Kiswire’s Nb-Ti superconductive wire, used in physics labs, medical devices, and even nuclear fusion systems. South Korean firms across a widening range of sectors are including Arkansas in site searches for greenfield U.S. operations, or as a place expand their existing U.S. footprint. The AEDC and our state’s diverse workforce house ample expertise to facilitate the majority of these. ??

Arkansas is also magnifying our appeal as an entrepreneurial hub with a world-class innovation ecosystem. The AEDC’s Small Business & Entrepreneurship Development Division offers a range of resources to this end, as do affiliated orgs such as Startup Junkie , whose Arkansas Korea Alliance program has ushered multiple cohorts of Korean startups to explore the state. Japan, South Korea, India, and Singapore are particularly vital sources of further FDI from startups. KITA’s Startup Branch, established in 2020, is just one Korean organization seeking to expand intra-national & global cooperation on innovation, while advising promising partners on opportunities overseas. I enjoyed dropping by Startup Branch’s Seoul HQ to catch up on their current activities & share some info on Arkansas’ target sectors.

As more Korean firms explore FDI to the?U.S., Arkansas remains engaged from every angle, seeking to build on existing partnerships and create new, fulfilling career opportunities for Arkansans. Our state benefits from Korean companies’ unique inputs, along with those of others from throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and the AEDC strives to make Arkansas the ultimate landing pad for intrepid investors both big and small.