Chungcheongnam-do

Chungnam has been active in attracting foreign capitals to make the foundation to become ‘the economic center of the pan-Yellow Sea region.’ Those efforts were initiated by the determination of Governor Lee Wan-gu, who's been working almost like a businessman to revive the local economy. Last September he started the full-scale plan by visiting five nations in Europe including Switzerland. His travel was rewarding in that he promoted the business environment of Chungnam to the outstand- ing companies in Europe and attracted a large amount of investment. The followings are the results of his European tour and the resulting investment agreements

Lafarge of France agrees to make investments in Chungnam.
Now let us explain the investment agreements that the governor made during the tour one by one.
He signed an MOU of $50 million investments in Dangjin, which will be made by Lafarge, a specialist in building materials from Paris, France, headed by Isidore Miranda. It was its second investment in Dangjin after its running of an $80-million factory in the Bugok Industrial Complex in Dangjin since 2001.
One of the biggest goals of his tour was to attract investment from Total, one of the world's largest energy and chemical companies. The governor visited the headquarters in Brussels and had a five-hour marathon talk with Steven Cornell, the vice president.
Currently the company is reviewing an investment of $2.5-3.0 billion in the Daesan Yuhwa Complex of Seosan built by Samsung Total Co., Ltd. Once the investment is accomplished, it will make a huge contribution to the activation of the local economy.
Moving to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the governor signed an MOU of $20 million investment in the Cheonan Valley with Arther del Prodo of AMS, a semiconductor device manufacturer.
It will be the company's first investment in Chungnam. The investment includes a 20-year lease of a building in the Cheonan Valley and the construction of a factory by 2009.

The trade regulations were revised to facilitate foreign capital investments.
Chungnam Province is planning to hold investment explanation meetings in Seoul for foreign companies that have or are willing to make investments in the region and the foreign diplomatic personnel in Korea. It will also invite them to a series of events to publicize the current state and position of the local companies.
The governor was rather a CEO determined to revive the local economy during the European tour than an administrative official. After the tour, he emphasized the need for innovations with the investment attraction system and suggested new directions in the economy and trade sector.
His plans include recruiting the professionals that have an experience of working in trade such as KOTRA to attract more foreign capitals and inviting the experts at KOTRA to the provincial office's economic meetings for consultation.