Biden highlights Hyundai U.S. investment announcement of $10B
SEOUL, South Korea — President Joe Biden tended to both business and security interests Sunday as he wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea, showcasing Hyundai’s pledge to invest at least $10 billion in electric vehicles and related technologies in the United States.
He also said he was not concerned about any possible provocation by North Korea while he is touring the region.
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” Biden said before visiting U.S. and South Korean troops serving together on the peninsula.
Asked if he had a message for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Biden offered a clipped response.
“Hello,” he said. “Period.”
It was another sharp departure from his predecessor, President Donald Trump, who once said he “fell in love” with Kim.
Before leaving South Korea and heading to Japan, Biden appeared with Hyundai chief executive Eusiun Chung to highlight the company’s expanded investment in the United States, including $5.5 billion for an electric vehicle and battery factory in Georgia.
“Electric vehicles are good for our climate goals, but they’re also good for jobs,” Biden said. “And they’re good for business.”
Chung also said his company would spend another $5 billion on artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
The major U.S. investment by a South Korean company was a reflection of how the countries are leveraging their longstanding military ties into a broader economic partnership.
Earlier in his trip, Biden toured a computer chip plant run by Samsung, the Korean electronics giant that plans to build a $17 billion production facility in Texas.
Biden has made greater economic cooperation with South Korea a priority, saying on Saturday that “it will bring our two countries even closer together, cooperating even more closely than we already do, and help strengthen our supply chains, secure them against shocks and give our economies a competitive edge.”
The pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has forced a deeper rethinking of national security and economic alliances. Coronavirus outbreaks led to shortages of computer chips, autos and other goods that the Biden administration says can ultimately be fixed by having more manufacturing domestically and with trusted allies.