Seagate Invests $137 Million in New Storage Design Center In Korea

Seagate Technology LLC opened its Seagate Korea Design Center, a new R&D hub dedicated to developing advanced 2.5-inch HDD solutions and small form-factor products for the mobile computer market.

Located at Gwanggyo New Town, Gyeong-gi Province, it is a seven-story, 26,000 square-meter building. Seagate has invested US$ 136.5 Million (Approximately KRW 142.34 Billion) in the hub and plans to continuously expand its investment. The company hired an additional 105 talented engineers, researchers and scientists, last year to bring the employee total to 360.

Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman and CEO, said: "The Seagate Korea Design Center is a significant addition to our global R&D and design centers. Technological innovation is the cornerstone of our success and the decision to locate this important strategic R&D investment in Korea reflects our confidence in the wealth of intellectual talent available here. We truly appreciate Gyeong-gi Provincial office’s commitment and support for making this possible and we look forward to being a strong corporate partner in the community."

Moon-Soo Kim, governor of Gyeonggi Province, said:" It is a great pleasure to have Seagate, a world leader in disk drives and storage, in Gwanggyo New Town. We expect Seagate to be a critical engine of growth for the Gyeonggi province, while building the local research and development talent."

As part of its commitment to the Korean community, Seagate will make a donation of US$ 70,000 (approximately KRW 73Million) to The Holt Ilsan Center (Holt Town) in Korea and present the cheque at the opening ceremony. The Holt Town, run by Holt Children’s Services Inc., provides rehabilitation, therapy and training services for disabled, ranging from toddlers to adults.

Steve Luczo, chairman and CEO of Seagate, Bob Whitmore, EVP and CTO, NY Park, SVP and GM of SKDC, as well as guests including, Moon-Soo Kim, governor of Gyeonggi Province, Jae-Young Lee, president of Gyeong-Gi Urban Innovation Corporation, Hak-Gyu Kim, mayor of Yong-in City Municipal Government, Yeon-Hee Lee, head of Suji Borough Office, Young-Ho Heo, director of Gyeonggi Volunteer Center and Seh-Woong Jeong and Nam-Seong Cho, EVP of Samsung Electronics were at the ceremony to celebrate the opening.