Korean automotive supplier promises 200 jobs in rural Georgia county

Parts maker Dongwon Autopart Technology says it will invest $30 million near Swainsboro.

Kia vehicles travel along the assembly line in its manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga. Dongwon Autopart Technology's first Georgia project supported the Kia factory. Dongwon, which makes parts such as door, seat and battery frames, will bring its second Georgia facility to Emanuel County. It did not publicly announce specific companies it will supply. (Kia Motors 2011)

By Amy Wenk

1 hour ago

A Korean automotive supplier plans to invest $30 million into a new production facility in South Georgia, promising to create 200 jobs.

Dongwon Autopart Technology, which makes parts such as door, seat and battery frames, will bring its second Georgia facility to Emanuel County, about 175 miles southeast of Atlanta. Gov. Brian Kemp made the announcement Wednesday.

“It is literally the biggest new industrial development project that we ever had in Emanuel County,” Ken Warnock, CEO of the Swainsboro-Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority, said in a phone call Wednesday.

Warnock said the county has been known as a hub for metal working, and Dongwon was drawn to that local expertise.

“We had a lot of people in that metal working sector that were still around,” he said. “And although automation and technology has really advanced in the last 25 years, they still understand the process, which helps (Dongwon) with their workforce.”

The new facility will be located near Swainsboro, about an hour drive from Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle factory near Savannah, the state’s largest economic development project.

The site for Dongwon Autopart Technology's planned $30 million production facility near Swainsboro. (Courtesy of Swainsboro-Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority)

Dongwon plans to support Georgia’s automotive manufacturing network but did not publicly announce specific companies it will supply. A Dongwon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Wednesday’s announcement did not offer those details.

Dongwon announced its first Georgia project in 2007, located in Hogansville to support the Kia factory in West Point, near the Alabama border. Hyundai is the parent company of Kia.

Many parts suppliers have clustered around Hyundai’s high-tech factory near Savannah, which it calls its Metaplant.

Twenty suppliers were supporting Hyundai’s factory as of May 2025, representing more than 7,000 jobs, according to the Savannah Economic Development Authority.

Hiring for the new facility in Swainsboro is expected to start this year, according to the announcement.

Dongwon will likely qualify for worker training through Georgia Quick Start. A Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson said negotiations over discretionary incentives remain active.

“Georgia’s thriving automotive industry is creating new opportunities for Georgians statewide, no matter their ZIP code,” Kemp said Wednesday.

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