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| President Yoon Suk-yeol had a virtual meeting with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Wednesday, his office said. Yonhap |
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday that Korea was among its top candidate locations for a giant factory it plans to build in Asia for making electric vehicles (EVs), according to Korea's presidential office.
Musk had made the remark in a video call with President Yoon Suk-yeol, adding that the company planned to step up cooperation with Korea on supply chains, Yoon's office said.
The president asked Musk to build the planned Asian factory in Korea.
In response, Musk said he considered South Korea to be one of the top candidates and would make the decision after reviewing investment conditions in other countries, including labor quality, technology level and production infrastructure.
"We expect to buy components worth more than $10 billion from South Korean firms in 2023 as we significantly expand supply chain cooperation with South Korean companies," Yoon's office quoted Musk as saying.
Yoon said in the discussion he would reform unreasonable regulations that hindered investment by global tech companies, according to Yoon's office. The president added that the government would continue its effort to attract investment from high-tech companies to enhance the country's competitiveness.
Korea's LG Energy Solution supplies Tesla with batteries, as do Japan's Panasonic Corp Holding and China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.
Analysts said Tesla could work closely with South Korean suppliers as Samsung Electronics and LG Innotek if it built the factory in the country. (Reuters)
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