Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan held a meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) and American-invested companies on January 9 at the Government Complex Seoul. The meeting was arranged following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on strategic investment between Korea and the U.S. in November last year, aiming to listen to the opinions and difficulties of American-invested companies and support their investment activities in Korea.
Minister Kim expressed gratitude for the record-high U.S. investment in Korea last year and evaluated that the expansion of U.S. investment in Korea after the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations shows the mutually beneficial development of investment cooperation between the two countries. The U.S. investment in Korea for 2025 was $9.77 billion, an 86.6% increase from the previous year.
The meeting was attended by key representatives of major American companies, including AMCHAM Chairman James Kim, who discussed issues such as the Korea-U.S. individual item tariff negotiations and foreign investment incentive systems. Minister Kim stated that he would reflect the opinions of AMCHAM members in policies and create a more predictable and stable investment environment for foreign-invested companies.
Minister Kim also emphasized the expectation for strengthened investment cooperation in advanced and future industries between Korea and the U.S. in 2026 and urged for continued expansion of U.S. investment in Korea. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to closely review the suggestions made during this meeting and continue communication with major foreign-invested companies.