Despite political unrest in South Korea, chemical manufacturer Soulbrain TX LLC is unwavering in its commitment to invest in Taylor, a company official assured the City Council this week.
Dr. Jon Park, the company’s vice president of technology and general counsel, appeared at City Hall Thursday, Jan. 9, as council members approved a request for a change to the Soulbrain tax-abatement agreement.
The company is building a $175 million plant at the RCR Taylor Logistics Park to produce phosphoric acid for nearby Samsung Austin Semiconductor and other semiconductor clients.
“The instability, including the hike of interest rates, has been problematic for the Korean corporations, but Korean people are resilient and Korean companies are strong enough to endure these tough times,” Park said.
Soulbrain official Jon Park assures City Council the company is still committed to its Taylor investment. Photo courtesy of Taylor
The controversy Park alluded to centers around calls for the arrest and ouster of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree several weeks ago.
“Our plan is unchanged. It may be affected by the exchange-rate hike, but as Soulbrain has been committed to coming and calls Taylor a home of Soulbrain and the worldwide headquarters of Soulbrain’s semiconductor operations, we’ll keep our plan as is and continue to make progress for our project,” Park said.
Ben White, president of the Taylor Economic Development Corp., appeared before the council to request the change to the taxabatement agreement.
The revision allows the factory to “ramp up” to 50 agreed-upon jobs over a five-year period rather than having all 50 jobs available on opening day.
White, along with Mayor Dwayne Ariola and other local leaders, toured the Soulbrain plant in South Korea during a 2024 economic- development visit to the country.
“When our citizens, not just Taylor but U.S. citizens, hear a chemical plant’s being built, their radar goes up.
But I can say with confidence (Soulbrain’s) safety requirements, regulations, standardoperating procedures were top notch. I was very impressed,” Ariola said.
The RCR Taylor Logistics Park, where Soulbrain is expected to begin construction in March, plays a strong role in Taylor’s economic development plans, officials said.
The council held a public hearing on Thursday as the first step to preemptively establish a reinvestment zone in the park.
The zone, if approved, will be the 11th such tax-abatement area in the city and is being referred to as the Taylor Port Zone.
“This is a proactive approach that we’re taking on a pretty sizable project that we are in competition with other communities,” White said. “What we’re doing is being proactive to hopefully speed along the process and go ahead and putting a reinvestment zone around this area so we can move forward with a tax abatement possibility in the future.” White said the zone will not affect any current taxes associated with the land.
