The Governor also offered his office's assistance to help cut 'red tape' in an effort to expedite Korean Air's $1 billion plan to redevelop the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
'Los Angeles is Korean Air's second home and we're grateful for the ongoing investments and subsequent job creation as a result of the Chairman's commitment to LA and California as a whole,' said Gov. Schwarzenegger. 'In exchange, I have pledged our State's continued support and will instruct my Office of Economic Development to help cut through any red tape to ensure we can get shovels in the ground at Wilshire and Grand as soon as possible.'
'It was an honor to meet with Gov. Schwarzenegger and we appreciate his help in expediting issues related to our project,' said Cho. 'Korean Air has a long and deep-rooted commitment to Los Angeles and we have a vested interest in Los Angeles' success.'
Los Angeles is home to the largest Korean population outside of Korea and it serves as Korean Air's North and South American headquarters. The airline is the largest transpacific carrier from LAX and operates 24 flights weekly between Los Angeles and Asia. As a result, Korean Air is one of the city's largest foreign employers. In addition, Cho also is chairman of Hanjin Group, a global shipping corporation with a significant economic impact in L.A.
Last year Cho announced his $1 billion plan to redevelop the Wilshire Grand Hotel.' The redevelopment that includes a 560-room luxury hotel, 65-story office building and green belt is estimated to create 7,000 construction jobs and over 4,000 permanent jobs. The project targets to achieve LEED Silver Certification for construction on both the hotel and office buildings.
South Korea is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is California's fifth largest trading partner. Nearly $6 billion in California goods were exported to Seoul in 2009. California exports more to South Korea than any other U.S. state. With more than 400,000 Koreans living in California, approximately 277,000 Koreans visited California in 2009, with a combined spending of $326 million. Leisure travel between Seoul and California during the last decade has kept Korea as one of the most stable overseas tourism markets in the world.
