On April 17, the Gyeonggi Province delegation headed by Governor Kim Moon-soo left for the United States to carry out activities for the attraction of investments by American businesses in the province.

Governor Kim Moon-soo stopped by the press room on his way to the airport for his departure to the United States and said, “North Korea is stepping up its threats against us, but I decided to push ahead with this pre-scheduled visit to the United States, as I decided that we need to increase jobs by assuring would-be investors that South Korea is a safe investment destination, particularly in a crisis situation like this.” Mr. Jeong Taek-jin, a spokesperson for the province said that the itinerary for Mr. Kim Moon-soo’s visit was shortened as much as possible to four days and three nights, included weekend, to minimize the Governor’s absence to be prepared against the North’s possible provocation.

During the visit to the United States, Mr. Kim Moon-soo will pay a visit to Washington state Governor Jay Inslee and will discuss the ways of forming a mutual cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and the states located along the U.S. west coast. He will also sign MOUs with businesses, such as KNR, Synos Display, Metaldyne, Costco, and Shinsegae Simon, whose total investment worth comes to USD 245 million. His itinerary includes paying homage at the Korean War Children’s Memorial in Bellingham, WA. There, he will meet with American Korean War veterans, express his gratitude for their sacrifice made during the war, and invite them to visit his province.

Since 2006, under Mr. Kim Moon-soo’s leadership, Gyeonggi Province has created a total of 59,400 jobs by attracting 127 cases of FDI worth USD 17.1 billion. Observers say that the province’s creation of 880,000 jobs, which account for 48% of the 1.82 million jobs created nationwide in the same period, was attributable to the governor’s positive attraction of FDI. Mr. Jeon Seong-tae, a Gyeonggi Province official who is in charge of economy and investment said, “We expect to create 1,542 jobs via attracting investments this time. We will continue to make efforts to create jobs and to bolster the competitiveness of local SMEs through attracting FDI and by acting as the mediator for collaborations between local SMEs and foreign businesses.”