Unrivaled Logistics Make Louisiana a Natural Fit for South Korean Companies
Recent investments by South Korean companies Lotte Chemical and Dongsung FineTec – combined with long-term investments by the Korea National Oil Corp. – have made ties between South Korea and Louisiana stronger than ever before.
NOTABLE SOUTH KOREAN INVESTMENT IN LOUISIANA
- Dongsung FineTec – Cryogenic insulation manufacturing facility, $5 million capital investment
- Lotte Chemical
Westlake Chemical and Lotte Chemical Corp., a company headquartered in South Korea, announced their $3 billion capital investment in two new chemical manufacturing plants in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Combined, the projects are creating 215 new direct jobs. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the combined projects will result in 1,892 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 2,100 new jobs in Southwest Louisiana. In April 2017, Lotte Chemical USA also announced the relocation of its headquarters from Houston to Lake Charles, bringing an additional 50 high-paying corporate jobs to Louisiana.
“Among Korean petrochemical companies, Lotte Chemical is the first to locate a project in the United States; as such, this project represents a significant investment by Lotte Chemical.”
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Soo Young Huh, President and CEO
TRADE BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND LOUISIANA
EXPORTS TO SOUTH KOREA
|
| Oil & Gas |
$654.2 million |
| Chemicals |
$540.3 million |
| Agricultural Products |
$258.7 million |
| Other |
$297.4 million |
Total
|
$1.75 billion
|
IMPORTS FROM SOUTH KOREA
|
| Petroleum & Coal Products |
$229.2 million |
| Primary Metal Manufacturing |
$184.2 million |
| Transportation Equipment |
$103.1 million |
| Other |
$167.7 million |
Total
|
$684.2 million
|
LOUISIANA REPRESENTATION IN SOUTH KOREA
In March 2017, LED Secretary Don Pierson led a Louisiana contingent to Asia focused on both business retention and business development. The economic development mission included a visit to South Korea to meet with existing investor company officials and potential new prospects.
Louisiana has a local representative, Young Ho Seo, based in Seoul, South Korea. If you would like to reach him, email youngho.seo@la.gov or call T +82 (2) 508.8768.
CULTURAL TIES AND RESOURCES
Honorary Consul William H. Langenstein, III
1100 Poydras Street, Suite 2300
New Orleans, Louisiana 70163
Tel: (504) 585-7000
whl@langensteinfirm.com
Louisiana State University (LSU) offers an international exchange program with Korea University, Seoul. LSU has also established a Korean Student Association in order to promote Korean culture around the campus.
In June 2017, University of New Orleans hosted more than 127 business professionals from South Korea to tour the campus and participate in a lecture regarding millennials in the workplace.