Williamson County EDP Opens Office in South Korea

July 25, 2023 (Williamson County, Texas) – The Williamson County Economic
Development Partnership (WilCo EDP) has gone international! In an update to the
Williamson County Commissioners Court, Dave Porter, economic development director for WilCo EDP, announced that the partnership opened an office in Seoul, South Korea, on July 1, 2023. The primary function of the office is to identify and assist South Korean companies who are looking at expanding to the United States and to encourage them to locate in Williamson County, Texas.

“Korea has become a premier location for generating technology, so this is a great place to invest in an office that not only helps companies in South Korea locate in Williamson County, but is a launching pad for all of Asian,”. said Porter.

Porter said the construction of the new Samsung semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor has created the need for a large number of suppliers to locate in central Texas. In addition to semiconductor suppliers, this office will target other industry sectors such as research, life sciences, automotive and software.

WilCo EDP’s Seoul office is co-located with the headquarters for KOTRA, the South
Korean state-funded trade and investment promotion organization. Partnering with Global Business Partners for staffing, the Seoul office has generated two leads for WilCo EDP in the first two weeks it has been open.

“We have placed a sign in the sky that says Williamson County is open for business,” said County Judge Bill Gravell. “This office gives us boots on the ground locally so that when companies come to KOTRA wanting to do business in the U.S., they can walk them down the hall to our offices.”

As one of its first projects, the WilCo EDP Seoul office is hosting a half day seminar on September 12 regarding how to do business in Williamson County. A delegation of economic development leaders, city managers and others from Williamson County will be attending to meet with an anticipated 100 to 150 companies.

Founded in 2014, the WilCo EDP was created as a partnership between Williamson
County and city economic development leaders to market and promote economic
development in Williamson County. Its board of directors are made up of
representatives from each of the contributing governmental entities including Williamson County, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Hutto, Jarrell, Leander, Liberty Hill, Round Rock and Taylor.