How Korean Companies Decide Where to Invest: A Practical Guide for Economic Development Organizations

Korea has become one of the most active investors in the United States. In 2025, Korean companies and investors sent US$25.8 billion of direct investment to the US, about 35% of all Korean outbound direct investment and more than to any other country. In the first half of 2026, the US share rose to about 45%. Under the 2025 trade agreement, Korea has also committed US$350 billion to investment in the US.

Yet for many economic development organizations, the Korean side of the table is still hard to read. Who makes the decision? When? What do Korean companies ask? And how can an EDO see a project coming before it is announced? This guide brings together public data, Korean disclosure rules and what we see in our work between Korean companies and foreign EDOs.

1. Read the numbers carefully

Korea's outbound direct investment reached US$73.7 billion in 2025, up 11.2%. The US received US$25.8 billion, up 15.0%. In the first half of 2026, outbound investment jumped 35% to US$42.6 billion, with the US taking 44.9%.

The headline is strong, but much of the growth is financial. In 2025, finance and insurance accounted for US$39.3 billion of the total, while manufacturing grew 3.6% to US$17.0 billion. In the first half of 2026, manufacturing investment grew only 0.2%. Fund and portfolio-type investment is not the same as a new plant.

US data tells a similar story. Korea's direct investment position in the US reached US$96.4 billion at the end of 2025, up from US$79.0 billion in 2023. In BEA's data on greenfield spending to build new or expand existing US businesses in 2025, Korean investors spent US$2.2 billion, second in Asia-Pacific after Australia. In 2023, at the peak of the battery boom, Korea was the largest source of announced greenfield investment in the US by capital investment, according to fDi Markets data. By number of projects over the past ten years, Korean investment in the US has gone mainly to auto components, industrial equipment, electronic components, software and IT services, and food and beverages.

The takeaway: the money is real, but the pipeline of new factories is narrower, and concentrated in a few industries.

2. The US$350 billion: what it is, and what it is not

The commitment has two parts: US$200 billion in cash investment, capped at US$20 billion a year, and US$150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation. Korea passed a special act in March 2026, which took effect in June and created a Korea–US Strategic Investment Corporation to manage the funds.

Projects are selected on the US side, then reviewed in Korea. The first project, announced on October 1, 2026, is a US$22.3 billion, 6,472 MW gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas, led by Related Companies and NextEra Energy. Large nuclear reactors and Alaska LNG are under discussion. On shipbuilding, Korean yards are already active in the US: Hanwha owns Philly Shipyard, HD Hyundai works with Huntington Ingalls and Samsung Heavy Industries with General Dynamics NASSCO.

For EDOs, the distinction matters. The US$200 billion is government-to-government money for energy and strategic infrastructure, chosen in Washington. It is not a pool that states and regions can compete for in the usual way. Company investment plans, such as Hyundai Motor Group's US$26 billion plan for 2025 to 2028, are separate and remain open to regional competition.

3. Who decides

Large Korean groups are organized as networks of listed and unlisted affiliates. Major investments typically involve three levels: group leadership, which sets long-term direction; a group-level coordinating office, which aligns strategy across affiliates; and the board of the affiliate that invests, which gives formal approval. Samsung turned its Business Support task force into a permanent organization in November 2025, SK coordinates its affiliates through the SUPEX Council, and the board of SK's holding company, SK Inc., reviews investments above 1% of its equity. The exact process differs by group and by the size of the project.

For EDOs, this means the person you meet at a trade show, often a manager at the US subsidiary or a team leader in Seoul, is usually one part of a longer internal review. Their job is to bring back data that is credible, comparable and easy to share with colleagues. Help them do that: clear numbers, consistent formats, materials that can be translated, and time for internal review.

4. When: the Korean planning calendar

Korean groups set their leadership and next year's plans at the end of each year. In the 2025 cycle, SK announced its reshuffle on October 30, Samsung Electronics on November 21 and 25, LG on November 27 and Hyundai Motor Group on December 18. LG's chairman holds business reviews with each affiliate in October and November, and Samsung holds its global strategy meetings in mid-December.

In our view, this has three practical consequences. September and October are when projects compete for a place in next year's plan. In late November and December, the people you have been talking to may be about to change roles. From January to March, new leaders set direction, which is a good time to reconnect.

5. What Korean companies ask

Since September 2025, visas for dispatched technicians and staff have been among the first topics Korean companies raise in meetings with US officials. Predictability is another. At the SelectUSA Investment Summit in May 2026, the Korea International Trade Association met the US Commerce Department and state officials, and emphasized stable conditions for long-term investment planning and consistent, transparent incentive programs. On October 15, 2026, the Korea–US and US–Korea business councils jointly called for faster approvals for strategic investments, updated visa programs, tax and financial support, and cooperation in energy.

In our experience, the questions that decide a site are practical: whether the workforce and training will be ready on the plant's timeline, whether power and water are available, how long permits will take, what the conditions and clawbacks in an incentive agreement are, whether suppliers and logistics are nearby, and whether Korean staff and their families can settle in.

6. After the anchor: the supplier wave

A Korean anchor plant rarely comes alone. Around Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, suppliers had announced more than US$2.5 billion in investment and about 6,900 jobs across 12 Georgia counties by the end of 2024, more than twice the roughly US$1 billion originally expected. They include Hyundai Mobis in Bryan County (US$926 million), Ajin's Joon Georgia in Bulloch County (US$317 million) and Sewon America in Effingham County (more than US$300 million). In October 2026, Hyundai Transys announced a further expansion of about US$560 million in West Point. Battery plants have drawn materials suppliers too, such as Soulbrain in Kokomo, Indiana, and Dongwha Electrolyte in Clarksville, Tennessee.

For most EDOs, the supplier wave is the realistic target. Many of these companies are mid-sized and little known outside Korea, and they are often reached through the anchor's purchasing network in Korea.

Plans also adjust to markets. As US electric vehicle demand changed in 2025, several battery partnerships and supply agreements were restructured, and Korean battery makers converted some US lines to energy storage. Following an anchor's market and product plans is part of reading the supplier pipeline.

7. Visas after Georgia

In September 2025, an immigration enforcement action at a battery plant construction site in Georgia led to the detention of 475 workers, more than 300 of them Korean. Since then, the two governments have set up a working group on business travel and visas, and the US has confirmed that B-1 visa holders and ESTA travelers may install, service and repair foreign-made equipment for investment projects, added a "B-1 specialized trainer" category, and opened a Korea Investment and Visit (KIT) Desk at the US Embassy in Seoul, which accepts batch applications that can include supplier staff. The Partner with Korea Act, which would create 15,000 E-4 visas a year for Korean professionals, has not been enacted. General construction work is still not allowed on B-1 or ESTA.

For EDOs, workforce and visa planning belongs in the first conversation, not the last. Connecting companies early with immigration counsel and training programs is a real service.

8. Reading the signals: Korean disclosures

Listed Korean companies must disclose certain investment decisions on the same day. Under Korea Exchange rules, a new facility investment must be disclosed if it reaches 10% of equity, or 5% for large companies with total assets of KRW 2 trillion (about US$1.5 billion) or more. An investment in another company, including a capital injection into a US subsidiary, must be disclosed at 5% of equity, or 2.5% for large companies. Because US plants are often funded through the US subsidiary, they frequently appear as the second type of filing.

There are limits. Companies can ask the exchange to defer a disclosure, and for the largest groups even a multi-billion-dollar plant may fall below the thresholds. Mid-sized suppliers cross the thresholds more often, which makes their filings a useful early signal. Filings are searchable on DART, Korea's disclosure system, in Korean.

What this means for EDOs: a practical checklist

Lead with data, not incentives. Clear, comparable numbers on workforce, power, sites and costs travel further inside a Korean company than an early incentive offer.

Prepare in Korean. A short Korean-language summary of your region's key data helps your contact pass it up the chain. At SelectUSA 2026, Georgia handed out a Korean-language guide.

Plan around the calendar. Engage in September and October, expect changes in December, and reconnect when the new team is in place.

Raise workforce and visas early. Bring training programs and immigration counsel into the first conversations.

Map the suppliers. If a Korean anchor is within a few hours of your region, its suppliers are your most realistic prospects.

Watch the filings. Mid-sized Korean suppliers' disclosures on DART can signal a project months before a ribbon cutting.

Be present in Korea. Twenty-seven US states, counties, cities and a port authority are members of the Association of American State Offices in Korea (ASOK), and Georgia's Seoul office turned 40 in 2025. When Hyundai Transys announced its West Point expansion in October 2026, Georgia's economic development commissioner credited the state's more than 40 years of representation in Korea. Some regions run their own Seoul offices; others work through a representative in Korea. Either way, relationships are built through steady contact between visits, not only during missions.

The bottom line

Korean investment in the US is large, but it is concentrated, decided through a distinctive process and shaped by a yearly calendar. EDOs that understand who decides, when they decide and what they need to see will compete better, especially for the suppliers that follow the anchors.

GlobalRika works in Seoul as the Korea representative for economic development organizations: following Korean investment and disclosures, meeting companies and their suppliers, preparing materials in Korean, and supporting missions and follow-up between visits. If you are an economic development organization looking to build a steady presence in Korea, we would be glad to talk. Contact us at info@globalrika.com.

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About the data

Korean outbound investment figures are from the Ministry of Finance and Economy's September 29, 2026 release, which revised the 2025 figures, and are revised over time. They are based on reported investment and include financial investment, not only new facilities. US figures are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and SelectUSA. Supplier figures are from company and Georgia state announcements. Disclosure thresholds are from the Korea Exchange's 2025 disclosure guide and apply to KOSPI-listed companies; KOSDAQ rules are similar. US dollar conversions are approximate, at about KRW 1,330 per dollar.

Sources

• Ministry of Finance and Economy via Yonhap and Korea JoongAng Daily, outbound direct investment in 2025 (March 27, 2026) and the second quarter of 2026 (September 29, 2026)

• US Bureau of Economic Analysis, New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 2025 (June 2026) and Direct Investment by Country and Industry, 2025 (July 2026); SelectUSA, South Korea FDI fact sheet (August 2026)

• Camoin Associates, fDi Markets data on 2023 greenfield investment (April 2024)

• White House and Korea JoongAng Daily, Korea–US joint fact sheet (November 2025); Korea Economic Institute of America, Special Act analysis (March 2026); Korea Times and Yonhap, first strategic investment project (October 1, 2026)

• Korea Times and JoongAng Ilbo, Samsung Business Support Office (November 7, 2025); KED Global, SK Inc. board approval threshold (October 2020)

• LG Corp., Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group executive appointments (October to December 2025); Korea JoongAng Daily, LG business reviews (October 2025)

• Venture Square, KITA at the SelectUSA Investment Summit (May 5, 2026); Chosun Ilbo, SelectUSA 2026 (May 6, 2026); Newspim, Korea–US business council joint statement (October 15, 2026)

• Hyundai Motor Group, Metaplant America grand opening (March 26, 2025); Office of the Governor of Georgia, supplier announcements (2022 to 2023); Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hyundai Transys West Point expansion (October 8, 2026); Area Development and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, battery materials suppliers

• Manufacturing Dive, battery joint venture restructuring (December 2025); Korea Times, Korean battery makers' shift to energy storage (December 31, 2025)

• Korea Times, Korea–US visa working group (October 1, 2025); Clark Hill, B-1 specialized trainer (December 2025); Kyunghyang Shinmun and Smart Today, KIT Desk (December 5, 2025); Office of Rep. Young Kim, Partner with Korea Act (July 2025)

• Korea Exchange, KOSPI Disclosure and Listing Guide (December 2025)

• Association of American State Offices in Korea, member list (October 2026); Office of the Governor of Georgia, 40th anniversary of the Korea office (October 2025)