Gov. Bill Lee did not just come home from Asia with jet lag. State officials say his nearly two-week recruiting swing helped reel in a record-setting Korea Zinc investment for Tennessee.
The trip, a tour with Deputy Gov. Stuart C. McWhorter, included meetings with almost 20 firms across three countries, according to documents later disclosed to reporters. That outreach lined up with a December announcement that Korea Zinc would build a multibillion-dollar smelter and U.S. headquarters in Clarksville while reopening mining activity in Smith County. Local leaders are already gaming out how the project could reshape supply chains and workforce training across Middle Tennessee.
As reported by the Nashville Business Journal, state travel records obtained by reporters map the delegation’s stops and highlight an early breakfast meeting that the outlet called a “key landmark” in the chain of events leading to the $6.6 billion project. The Business Journal’s review portrays the journey as an intensive round of face-to-face recruiting rather than a quick publicity tour, a level of targeted outreach that helps explain how Tennessee landed a high-profile strategic manufacturing commitment.
How Tennessee Is Selling The Win
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced on Dec. 15 that Korea Zinc would invest more than $6.6 billion to build new production facilities in Clarksville and Gordonsville, creating roughly 420 jobs in Montgomery County and 320 in Smith County, according to a state news release. Per the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, officials credited Gov. Lee and Deputy Gov. McWhorter’s international recruitment for helping secure the deal…