Six months ahead of the U.S. presidential election, FKI Chairman Jin Roy Ryu held a breakfast meeting with former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the Republican Party during his visit to Korea and other leading Korean businesspeople.

  The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) hosted a breakfast meeting with the former U.S. House Speaker and around 20 senior executives from major Korean companies at the FKI Tower Conference Center on Thursday, May 23, to discuss economic cooperation between Korea and the United States. 

“Hotline between Korean business community and U.S. opinion leaders is urgently needed ahead of the U.S. presidential election" - FKI Chairman

  In his opening remarks, Mr. Jin Roy Ryu, chairman of the FKI, said, "There is an urgent need for in-depth dialogues between the Korean business community and U.S. opinion leaders ahead of the U.S. presidential election, which is being watched with great interest by the entire world." "The United States is Korea's largest investment and export destination," Ryu said, emphasizing the economic partnership between the two countries, noting that Korean direct investment in the United States has contributed significantly to job creation in the United States.

  In 2023, Korea's investment in the U.S. totaled about $27.7 billion, accounting for 43.7 percent of the $63.8 billion in foreign direct investment that the U.S. attracted last year, the largest share of any single country. This, coupled with the high level of job creation, underscores the important role that Korean investment in the U.S. plays in the U.S. economy, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a true friend of Korea, was a key player in orchestrating the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and hosted Korean War veterans event

  Former Representative McCarthy, who was invited as a special guest to the breakfast meeting, was a leading pro-Korean lawmaker and is known to have led the Republican Party's support behind the scenes for the KORUS FTA. In addition, he worked to strengthen both the economic and security relationship between the U.S. and Korea, such as by co-sponsoring a bill to expand the E-4 professional visa quota for Korean nationals (2014) and hosting an event to honor Korean War veterans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance (2013). As Speaker of the House of Representatives, he also invited President Yoon to address Congress during the President’s state visit to the United States last year.

  Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy is a member of the U.S. Republican Party and has been a leading figure in the U.S. Republican Party since becoming deputy whip in 2008, just two years after becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He supported former President Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and helped him win the election and was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2023. He is reported to have endorsed Donald Trump once again for the next presidential election.

Many senior figures from semiconductor, automobile, securities, and K-food industries attended to communicate with U.S. political figure

  Senior executives from major companies such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor Company, LG, SK, Lotte, Hanwha, and LS participated in the meeting and shared their opinions. Companies from various industries such as Mirae Asset, CJ, SPC, and Shinsegae Food also participated, raising expectations for new economic exchanges between Korea and the United States.

  Commenting on the event, Bong-man Kim, Vice President of the International Network Department at FKI, said, "With the U.S. presidential election just six months away, the opportunity to directly convey the opinions of the Korean business community to an opinion leader who can play a major role in the U.S. policy-making process is invaluable." "As decisions made by the U.S. Congress, such as the IRA and the expansion of the E4 visa quota, have a major impact on the Korean economy, we will create and utilize more opportunities to share such opinions."

[Attached] 

① Overview of Breakfast Meeting With Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy

② Opening Remarks by FKI Chairman Jin Roy Ryu