Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun, center, poses with foreign businesspeople as Hewlett Packard (HP) and Vestas agreed to set up their regional headquarters in Korea, during the Invest KOREA Summit 2024 at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, Wednesday. From left are European Chamber of Commerce in Korea President Stefan Ernst, Vestas Korea Wind Technology General Manager Srdan Cenic, Ahn, HP Printing Korea CEO Kim Kwang-seuk and American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman James Kim. Yonhap

Korea will be home to the regional headquarters of both Hewlett-Packard and Vestas.

The regional base of the U.S. computer and printer manufacturer will manage R&D projects in both Korea and globally, while Vestas, the leading Danish wind turbine producer, will construct its main factory for wind power generation equipment in the country.

The pledge was made on Wednesday at the Invest KOREA Summit 2024, Korea's largest investment promotion event, which has been held annually by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy since its inception in 2006 as Foreign Investment Week.

This is the first time in nine years that global companies have chosen Korea as the location of their regional headquarters, following a similar move by five foreign firms in 2015. In 2014, the government began offering incentives to foreign companies to support the establishment of their regional headquarters in Korea.

During the event, seven foreign firms also agreed to invest a combined $920 million in Korea's advanced technology sectors.

Japan's Towa will expand the production capacity of its semiconductor equipment plant here, while Germany's Prettl will invest in batteries, electronic devices and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for cars.

Denmark's CIP, Norway's Equinor and Sweden's Hexicon will build offshore wind power plants here.

DP World from the United Arab Emirates and ESR Kendall Square from Singapore plan to construct cutting-edge logistics centers in Korea.

"This summit enabled us to ascertain that global businesspeople and investors are paying keen attention to Korea's investment environment," Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in his congratulatory address during the Invest KOREA Conference, the main event of the three-day summit.

Emphasizing that the size of foreign direct investments in Korea hit a record high for the third straight year, the minister promised that the country will continue pursuing technological innovation and regulatory reforms to become a more attractive investment destination for overseas investors, amid increasing economic uncertainties.

CEO Yu Jeoung-yeol of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the event's organizer, also highlighted the summit as a platform for global investors to learn about Korea. According to KOTRA, the event attracted over 2,000 participants, including foreign investors, businesspeople, diplomats, and journalists.

"We prepared various programs to show investment opportunities in Korea to foreign investors," Yu said in his opening remarks during the conference.

Following the conference, Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo answered questions from foreign journalists from the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, China, Japan, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.

Although former U.S. President Donald Trump declared his victory in the U.S. presidential election as Cheong spoke to foreign journalists, the trade minister declined to comment on the government's countermeasures against the outcome, saying that it is too early for him to speak about a foreign country's political event.

Cheong also refrained from predicting the potential negative impact of the North Korean troop deployment to Russia on South Korea's investment environment, saying that it is difficult at this moment to forecast how the war will unfold.

"Geopolitical risks will have a negative impact on economic activities, but Korea may seize the opportunity, if it copes with the global supply chain reshuffle and protectionist policies," he said.

Before the press conference, a town hall meeting took place to introduce industrial complexes in various regions of Korea and to attract investments in areas outside the capital, Seoul.

Tours of the industrial complexes will also be offered to foreign participants on Friday. This marks the first time in five years that KOTRA has provided such tours, following the suspension of the program in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the Startup Forum will be held to connect around 120 promising Korean startups with around 50 investors here and overseas.