Jim Maran (left), president and CEO of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce and Nick Masino, vice president of economic development, welcome the KITA delegation.

Front row: Dr. Song-Hae Bok, presidium chair of KITA; Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Back row: Yong-kil Kim, vice consul, Consulate General of Korea in Atlanta; Tim Perry, attorney, Miller & Martin; Andy Kim, president & CEO, Corman Group; Young Koo Lee, director, Hansung Pharmaceutical Co.; Wayne Yee, Americas team leader, KITA; Seong-Je Goh, manager, Nubicom, Inc.; John Woodward, director of foreign investment, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.  Photo courtesy of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

The Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce hosted a delegation from South Korea’s largest business association April 10-11, strengthening business ties between that country and the county home to the Georgia’s largest Korean-American community.

Andy Kim, president of Alpharetta-based English-language consulting and marketing firm the Corman Group Inc., said that half of the Korean population in the state lives in Gwinnett.

Gwinnett chamber President Jim Maran signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea International Trade Association, or KITA’s, lead delegate Song-Hae Bok April 11.

The signing ceremony had been postponed from the previous day when the luggage carrying the memorandum got lost at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Nick Masino, vice president of economic development at the chamber, said that the exchange had been in the making for three years and that Gwinnett worked with approximately 12 other Atlanta-area chambers to set up appointments for the delegates.

The KITA delegates also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce the same day.

Mr. Bok said that Atlanta is well-known as a rapidly growing area of the U.S. with strong Korean ties.

Wayne Yee, a KITA delegate, said that the association had chosen specific areas of the U.S. to develop business.

“With 50 states we cannot do economic development in detail in every state,” he said.  “We chose Georgia as a lead into the Southeast U.S.”

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister greeted the approximately 25 delegates in Korean and highlighted the growth the county has undergone in recent years, saying in English that one in four residents had been born outside the U.S.

“That’s why we believe Gwinnett County offers a great opportunity for international business,” he said.  Mr. Kim, who is consulting the chamber on international business, translated the speech for the delegation.

The delegates were welcomed at a gala at the Georgia Aquarium the evening of April 10 by representatives of many Atlanta-area chambers of commerce, the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s office.

They spent April 11 meeting with businesses, including law, accounting and real estate firms, crucial contacts if any of the companies decide to locate an operation in Georgia.