INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana has opened an office in South Korea to attract foreign investment to the state’s energy, electric vehicle and semiconductor sectors, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation said Tuesday.

“Indiana’s new Seoul office underscores the importance of the state’s deepening relationships with Korean companies and their increased interest in a dynamic Hoosier workforce and economy,” Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers said in a prepared statement.

The office opened July 1, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.

The announcement comes less than a month after South Korea-based Samsung SDI chose New Carlisle in northern Indiana for a projected $3 billion electric vehicle battery cell plant that is forecast to create 1,700 manufacturing jobs in a joint venture with General Motors Corp.

Samsung SDI also has a joint venture with Stellantis that is building a $2.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Kokomo.

Thirteen other South Korea-based companies have operations in Indiana while six Indiana-based businesses operate in the Asian nation.

The Seoul office is the eighth overseas for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.