Korean companies’ presence in Silicon Valley on the rise

The number of smaller Korean companies in Silicon Valley has more than doubled since 2008 as they seek to secure new customers, a state-owned trade agency said yesterday.

A total of 51 Korean information technology (IT) companies are housed at the IT Support Center Service of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) in San Jose, compared with 22 in 2008, according to Kotra.

Kotra’s service center is designed to help Korean companies make inroads into the North American market.

Three companies have moved into the Kotra building this year, in the latest sign that Korean technology companies are pouring into Silicon Valley in search of new customers.

The three companies include Sealtech, which makes O-rings for semiconductors and liquid-crystal displays, Kotra said on its Web site.

Kwon Kyoung-moo, director of Kotra’s IT center, said some of the smaller Korean companies, which used to supply parts to Samsung Electronics, the world’s top maker of smartphones and memory chips, moved to Silicon Valley to try to secure new customers.

Some Korean companies have set up their own offices in Silicon Valley outside the Kotra building.

Kim Yong-se, a lawyer, said he helped about 30 South Korean companies make inroads into Silicon Valley last year, though he declined to name those firms, citing policy.