The “speedy administration” of Gyeonggi Province has once again received high acclaim on the global stage. Governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Moon-Soo, who has consistently stressed the importance of “speedy administration,” signed contracts worth a total of USD 170 million with foreign companies during his three-night, six-day visit to the United States.

Governor Kim successfully secured investment from companies operating fields in which Gyeonggi Province holds global competitiveness — IT, water treatment and improvement, and high-efficiency LED. Moreover, Governor Kim attracted Shinsegae Chelsea’s Premium Outlet store to the City of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which is expected to stimulate the local economy, especially in the northwestern region of the province.

These achievements were enabled by Gyeonggi’s  “speedy administration,” which was lauded by the foreign companies involved.

On September 8, local time, Gyeonggi Province and Chelsea, a global retailer, signed an investment MOU. At the signing venue, John Klein, CEO of Chelsea, broke the ice by saying, “I would like to express my sincere thanks to Gyeonggi Province for their active efforts to attract investment. In particular, I would like to recognize Governor Kim for his steadfast support, which helped us to finalize this investment much faster than expected.”

In reply, Huh Yin-Cheol, vice president of Shinsegae stated, “Our company signed an investment MOU for our second premium outlet store, following the first one in Yeoju, with Gijang-gun, Busan Metropolitan City. However, commencement was much quicker in Paju, a factor relating to land use approval and other administrative processes, so we were able to open our second premium outlet store in Paju first. The administrative process of Gyeonggi Province is faster than any other province in Korea, and we really appreciate that.”

Achievements realized during this visit to the United States include MOUs signed with HES, a water purification and filter system manufacturer (USD 45 million); Wave Square, an LED manufacturer (USD 13.3 million); Cryogenic Industries Korea, a core parts manufacturer for semiconductor LCDs and shipbuilding industries (USD 5 million), among others.

The attraction of an R&D Center of Techwell, a company that holds core technologies in IT surveillance equipment (amount undisclosed), as well as an outlet store of Shinsegae Chelsea, a global retailer (USD 80 million dollars) is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs.

Moreover, Gyeonggi Province opened a representative office in Los Angeles, which will serve as an advance base to enhance investment, commerce, exchange, and activities between Gyeonggi Province and North America. The Gyeonggi Province L.A. Trade Office is located within KOTRA’s L.A. Trade Center, and will assist with trade activities of the 40,000 SMEs headquartered in Gyeonggi Province.

In addition, to revitalize the textile and apparel industries in the northern region of Gyeonggi Province, Governor Kim, along with the Gyeonggi Province Trade Promotion Task Force, actively implemented sales efforts targeting North American textile and apparel businesses.