Governor Gretchen Whitmer began meeting Monday with business leaders as part of an investment mission to South Korea.
Her office said the trip aims to recruit business in industries like shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, and mobility.
Michelle Grinnell is chief communications and attraction officer with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. She said the pitch to Korean leaders involves letting them know “Michigan is open for business.”
“It’s not anything you wouldn’t expect. It’s highlighting our ... density of industry sectors here in the state, proximity to supply chain, proximity to customers,” Grinnell said.
The press release announcing the trip lists state and Oakland County officials, U.S. military leaders, and some businesspeople as part of the delegation.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said the businesses are paying their own way while the MEDC corporate budget and the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, the corporation's nonprofit arm, are paying for other travel. It said no taxpayer dollars are funding the trip.
This is the fourth publicly announced trip abroad Whitmer took this year. In January, she spent five days in Europe, including a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
During a ten-day trip in February, Whitmer attended the Munich Security Conference. It’s known for attracting world leaders and major players in the defense industry.
When asked about the emphasis on defense contracts on the South Korea trip, Grinnell mentioned Michigan’s military infrastructure at Camp Grayling, a Michigan National Guard base and the largest national guard training facility in the U.S. She said the defense sector is a natural fit for Michigan’s economy, given its ties to the auto industry.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for businesses that are in that sector, particularly in the supplier side, to diversify into defense,” Grinnell said.
She said this is also a chance for state leaders to connect with South Korean companies that already have a presence in Michigan. That’s as U.S. relations with the East Asian country have faced some stress in recent months.
Whitmer visited South Korea in 2024 as well.
