North and South Korea are half a world away from Atlanta, but businesses and residents here with ties to the region are anxiously watching the situation as tensions between the two countries escalate.
At least 20 Georgia companies have operations in Korea, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, including AFC Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola and UPS. Delta said Tuesday it has not seen any change in travel in the area, while UPS said it’s been “business as usual,” although the company is monitoring events.
The state also is home to 51 Korean facilities, 24 of which are involved in manufacturing, including a Kia Motors plant in West Point. They employ more than 5,000 Georgians, according to the GDEC. A spokesman for Kia Motors America said the company had “nothing to offer” on the situation in Korea.
American Megatrends, a Norcross computer technology company that works with major Korean manufacturers such as Samsung and LG said its operations are still proceeding normally. But the company has employees at a branch office in Seoul, including Korean nationals and staff from its U.S. headquarters and the company’s offices in India.
“There’s a fair amount of concern,” said Chris Menosky, an American Megatrends spokesman.
There are also concerns about the effect of a conflict on the industry.
“We can see that interruption of normal business operations in Korea would have a marked ripple effect in the global electronics components supply chain for the computer and mobile device industry,” Menosky said in an email. U.S. companies like Apple depend on parts from Korean manufacturers to build products including the iPhone, he noted.
Metro area residents with ties to Korea also are watching events. At this point, though, those interviewed said they are not too concerned.
“Travis” Euisuk Kim, who has lived in Atlanta since 1993 but whose brother and sister still live in Seoul, South Korea, said he doesn’t believe North Korea will launch a major attack.
“The North Korean government has made so many threats over the years,” he said. “The people are kind of numb about all these threats.”
There’s not a lot his family could do even if they wanted to, he said. They’re not going to leave the country, and the nation is so small that no place is safe from missiles.
Kim, president of The Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta, said he thinks the North Korean leaders have too much to lose - wealth, power, a luxurious lifestyle - to go to war.
“They could do something stupid,” he said. “But I don’t think they want to do anything radical that would put their position at risk.”
Alice Kim is keeping up with the news but isn’t worried enough to call her extended family in South Korea.
“I don’t see the people I know in South Korea being super worried,” said the 34-year-old, who came to Georgia when she was a child. “They’re not trying to run away.”
Nack Paek, chairman of Metro City Bank in Doraville, has been in metro Atlanta for more than 40 years. His business won’t be directly affected by what happens in Korea, he said, but he’s still concerned.
“Things can happen accidentally, and it can go out of hand,” he said. “I’m worried about that.”
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