Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn met Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday to strengthen business cooperation between the company and the US state, the group said in a statement.

At a meeting held at Hanwha’s Seoul office, the two exchanged their views on the company’s ongoing business operation in Virginia and also the prospects of the diplomatic and economic relationship between the two countries after Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election.

The South Korean conglomerate acquired a thermoplastic composite-maker in Virginia in 2007 and has been operating the production unit there. The company Hanwha Azdel supplies lightweight vehicle components for US carmakers, including GM, Ford and Chrysler.

Hanwha has received incentives worth $430,000 from the state government to generate jobs and inject investments.

“Hanwha Group has invested in Virginia a lot and will seek a win-win opportunity by strengthening more business cooperation with the state,” Kim was quoted as saying by officials. The governor thanked the chairman for his support and invited him to visit Virginia, they said.

Kim also asked for the governor’s advice on the prospects of bilateral trade in regard to Trump’s campaign policies on reviving trade tariffs and its impact on South Korea’s exports to the US. The two exchanged their views on Virginia’s system of renewable energy and possible changes in the sector.

The Virginia governor is currently in Seoul for a four-day visit to seek Korean companies interested in making inroads in the US state in the fields of bio, food, information technology and defense industries.

The meeting with Hanhwa chairman was made at the request of the governor, the company said.

Gov. McAuliffe is known as a pro-Korean politician in the US, having signed legislation requiring Virginia textbooks to add the words “East Sea” for the body of water that separates Korea and Japan in 2014.

He led Bill Clinton’s campaign in 1996 and also worked with Hillary Clinton when she sought a presidential bid in 2008. 


By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)