Yoon meets Musk in Washington to attract Gigafactory to Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol meets Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. on April 26 (local). [Photo by Yonhap]

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the U.S., met with Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The two had a video conversation last year to discuss setting up Tesla’s Gigafactory, an electric vehicle production plant, in Korea, but this time they met in person.

The meeting was organized on short notice at the request of Musk, who asked to meet Yoon during his U.S. trip, Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said in a briefing. The presidential office said the fact that the meeting was held soon after the U.S.-Korea summit shows that Yoon is keen on attracting foreign companies like Tesla. Yoon once again tried to bring the Gigafactory to South Korea. He also hand-delivered a booklet titled “Korea for the Next Gigafactory” to Musk, Choi said.