Austin Business Journal Spotlights KoreaTexas Forum's Impact in Texas
- Oct 2
- 4 min read
Originally published by Austin Business Journal on Oct 2, 2025
By Justin Sayers - Senior Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
[The following is a transcription of the full article as written by Justin Sayers.]
New initiative launched to help bring South Korean companies to Central Texas
By Justin Sayers - Senior Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
As Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has slow-walked the opening of its massive chipmaking factory in Taylor, economic development leaders in the area have placed less of an emphasis on solely courting fellow South Korean companies and more on landing international businesses as a whole.
That has prompted EC Chi, formerly international director of the Williamson County Economic Development Partnership, to launch what she's calling the KoreaTexas Forum. Its sole mission: to help South Korean companies that are landing or expanding in Central Texas, from Killeen to Buda to Bastrop to Elgin and seemingly everywhere in between.
Chi said the KoreaTexas Forum, based at 1000 Gattis School Road in Round Rock, aims to support Korean companies of various industries and sizes, as well as Korean startups and educational and cultural entities.
"The Forum's function is making those bridges (between) what they expected and what they have to adjust (to)," she said. Unlike most economic development groups, which are funded by and represent municipalities, her group is more businesses oriented, she said.
Cultural and process differences involving permitting, educational connections and securing water or land are among the issues that Korean companies must confront. Chi said her group plans to provide them with help, along with educational programming and events. It also intends to establish a website with resources to connect companies to materials suppliers or brokers or attorneys.
Korean companies have been flocking to the area in recent years, many of which are suppliers to Samsung and are looking to locate near the sprawling factory in Taylor. But many operate in other industries as well, including automotive and renewable energy, while others include startups and even banks. Some even supply Tesla Inc. and its factory in Travis County.
Chi, who with Wilco EDP served as a liaison between South Korean entities and Williamson County, said she has amassed a list of more than 30 Korean entities in Central Texas by reaching out to chambers of commerce, economic development staff and Korean entities. And that's almost assuredly an undercount of the number operating in the area.
Chi and five other volunteers, including Mary Poche, who has worked in various economic development roles in the region, and former Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell, who is on the board of directors, have been working on the KoreaTexas Forum, soliciting donations, memberships and event partnerships and sponsorships. Some local companies have even donated office space to use for meetings.
Wilco EDP Executive Director Dave Porter said Chi initially was hired under a short-term arrangement, calling the fact that she was in her position for three years a testament to the wealth of interest from Korean companies. Still, he acknowledged that her work at the EDP had been cut as the EDP widened its international focus.
He said Chi is "still going to be an integral part of what we're doing, just in a different capacity" through the KoreaTexas Forum.
Chi recently discussed some of the issues with the Austin Business Journal.
Is Central Texas still putting an emphasis on Korean companies?
Chi said that due to Samsung's delay in Taylor, economic development leaders have been thinking more broadly when trying to attract international companies, putting an emphasis on Taiwan, Japan and elsewhere. They've also tried to diversify outside of the semiconductor supply chain.
But when Chi tapped Korean companies, KOTRA (essentially the South Korean equivalent of the U.S. Department of Commerce) and others, the feedback she received was that they still needed a resource to help them navigate things like tariffs and other factors.
"We cannot pause because of these challenges, we need to move on," she said.
Do Korean companies still want to be in Central Texas?
Chi said it depends on the industry.
Many high tech companies want to be on the coasts, she said, while biopharmaceutical companies want to be in areas like Boston or Silicon Valley because of the talent pool. Aerospace and defense wants to be in clusters in areas like Alabama and Pennsylvania, she said.
But Chi said those working in the manufacturing and industrial space want to be in the center of the country — and primarily in Texas, because it's big and business-friendly.
She said the key will be to diversify outside of the semiconductor sector, citing renewable energy as a target.
What impact has the immigration raids in Georgia had on Korean businesses looking at the U.S.?
Korean business leaders have called the event "shocking," she said.
Still, she said it's just one of three reasons for concern right now for companies looking to do business in the U.S. The others are plans by the Trump administration to impose a $100,000 fee on H1B Visas, making it more difficult for companies to hire foreign workers, and ongoing discussions over the locking of currency exchange rates between both countries.
"So they're not happy," Chi said. "They're sorting their thoughts and working on other ways to remedy that."
At the end of the day, she said Korean companies still want to be in the U.S. because, in their view, it's the biggest market for them outside of their own country. So the short answer is "they're still coming," she said.
[END of transcription]
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