SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday in Washington to call for investment in his country, news agency Yonhap reported, citing a presidential aide.
The two met at Musk’s request as Yoon is in the U.S. for a six-day state visit, Yonhap said.
Yoon touted South Korea as an ideal country for Tesla to build a gigafactory, citing the country’s cutting edge industrial robots and high-skilled workers, the report said.
He also offered to provide support including tax benefits to attract the EV maker’s manufacturing plant.
Musk told Yoon that South Korea remains as one of the top candidates for Tesla’s Gigafactories, and he would have an opportunity to visit the Asian country, according to Yonhap.
Tesla and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In November, Yoon told Reuters that the country would offer “tailored” incentives and minimise any risks posed by militant unions to encourage Tesla’s investment, days after he had a video call with Musk.
In March this year, Musk announced Tesla will build a new factory in Mexico, which would be its first plant outside of the United States, Germany and China. Canada and Indonesia have been also cited as potential candidates for Tesla’s new factory.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler)
