South Korea invests more in Hungary
Hundreds of millions of euros of investments are coming to Hungary from South Korea
During his visit to South Korea, Peter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, met with various people and companies to discuss investments in Hungary, including South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kjung Vha; Trade Minister Ju Mjung Hi; and representatives of SK Innovation, Samsung SDI, Doosan Solus and Hankook Tire.
Samyang Biopharm will now establish a medical device plant in Gödöllő with an investment of HUF 8.6 billion, creating 55 jobs in the first phase. The government will also provide HUF 1.3 billion in non-refundable support for the project
The plant in Gödöllő will be the first one in Europe for Samyang Group’s medical device manufacturing division and the first Korean pharmaceutical investment in Hungary.
Last year, South Korean companies decided to invest more than 2.5 billion euros in Hungary, which is 48 percent of all investments in the country, Szijjártó said, adding that these investments created more than 4,500 jobs.
The minister also pointed out that last year was the first time in decades when the majority of investments came from South Korea, not Germany. The reason for this was due to the largest electric battery companies in South Korea bringing their factories to Hungary — the largest electric battery factories in the world.
“These Korean companies are particularly pleased with the conditions in Hungary. They highly value political stability, the Hungarian work ethic, and the skill and diligence of the Hungarian people; and they especially appreciate the lowest taxes in Europe, including the lowest corporate tax in Europe,” the minister said.
Several companies active in the South Korean electric car industry have also decided to invest in Hungary, to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros this year alone. Szijjártó noted that this will make Hungary “a flagship of the European automotive industry,” not just for traditional car manufacturing but for electric vehicles as well.
The new investments worth hundreds of millions of euros will be announced in the coming months and will be evenly distributed in several parts of the country, according to the minister.
Szijjártó emphasized that political relations between Hungary and South Korea are good and pose no obstacles to the further development of bilateral business relations.
