Biden Highlights Hyundai Announcement of $10B US Investment
President Joe Biden tended to both business and security interests Sunday as he wraps 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.
Before visiting U.S. and South Korean troops monitoring the rapidly evolving North Korean nuclear threat, Biden said the U.S. was ready for any provocation that Kim Jong Un might deliver.
Hyundai's investment includes $5.5 billion for an electric vehicle and battery factory in Georgia.
Appearing with Biden, Hyundai CEO Euisun Chung said Sunday his company would spend another $5 billion on artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
“Electric vehicles are good for our climate goals, but they’re also good for jobs," Biden said. "And they’re good for business.”
The major U.S. investment by a South Korean company is a reflection of how the U.S. and South Korea are leveraging their longstanding military ties into a broader economic partnership.
Biden 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 in response to a reporter's question. "We've talked through how we’d respond to whatever they do so I am not concerned, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
The U.S. president 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.”
