South Korea’s second-largest company, the SK Group, wants to do business in
Antigua and Barbuda and it is making an offer to explore opportunities with both
the government and the private sector.
This was one of the main outcomes of a meeting held on Monday by Foreign
Affairs Minister, E.P. Chet Greene, with a delegation from the Group headed by
the chairman of the SK Supex Council, Cho Daesik.
Minister Greene met with the team in place of Prime Minister Gaston Browne,
who is currently out of state. He welcomed them to St. John’s and shared the hope
that this venture would add another level to the existing strong ties between
Antigua and Barbuda and South Korea.
Representative of the South Korean government, former Ambassador Seonghoa
Hong explained that his country wishes to broaden and deepen the relationship
with Antigua and Barbuda in a more systematic, institutional, and sustainable way.
“To this end, we have discussed and explored various programmes for cooperation.
We believe that strong public/private partnership is also important for the long-
term and solid relationship and that’s why the leadership of the SK Group is here.
The SK Group’s business deals with solutions to challenges faced by humanity and
future technologies. That is why we view today’s meeting as very timely and
meaningful and we hope that our discussions would be productive and fruitful,” he
stated.
Chairman Daesik described his company as a ‘top class’ and leading company,
operating in South Korea, in multiple areas such as semiconductors,
telecommunications, energy, and the bio-pharma industries. The Group is also a
leader in waste-water recycling, carbon capture, and renewable energy. He has
offered to assist Antigua and Barbuda in any initiative in these areas or other areas
that are pursued by other South Korean companies.
SK Vice Chairman, Dong-Hyun Jang outlined four areas in which his group would
want to explore opportunities for partnership with Antigua and Barbuda. He
identified these areas as renewable energy, noting that the Antigua and Barbuda
government has placed much emphasis on this area. He added that the company
has made many advances in both solar and wind-generated energy sources. He
offered to conduct joint research with St. John’s to find solutions in this area.
The second area is that of the environment. According to Vice Chairman Jang the
SK Group is a leader in plastic recycling and waste water management. This he
noted would be an area for further discussion.
A third area is I.T., Jang said the company is the largest telecoms company in
South Korea and it can assist Antigua and Barbuda build its I.T. infrastructure and
help set up an I.T. disaster response system.
In the fourth area, the South Korean businessman noted that Antigua and Barbuda
as a tourism destination, is not known in South Korea and his company is willing
to work along with St. John’s to begin promoting the twin island state to his
country.
Minister Greene listened to the proposals from the South Korean businessmen and
noted that already there are several areas he would suggest for further discussions,
with the appropriate local authorities. He gave an undertaking to take the proposals
to his Cabinet colleagues, for further review.
