Business relationships were the focus of a six-day trip to South Korea recently completed by a local economic development official.

“Relationships are huge when you’re working in international markets,” said Kelly Halsted, the economic development director for the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance.

Her main goal for the trip, she said, was solidifying the local community’s relationship with the parent company of CJ Bio America, which has a lysine plant in the ag industrial park west of Fort Dodge called Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation.

“Building that relationship is key to keeping that investment here and encouraging future investment,” she said.

Halsted also sought to build new relationships with other South Korean business leaders, including executives of a company that’s apparently considering an investment in the United States.

She was part of a 17-member Iowa delegation led by Gov. Terry Branstad that made a Sept. 7 to 13 trip to South Korea.

“Obviously, having the governor with us in those meetings is important too,” she said.

The trip was organized by state officials, and was sponsored by Cargill, the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance and the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Halsted said the governor announced plans for the trip early this year and the Growth Alliance staff “put it on our list of activities.”

She said South Korea has the 12th largest economy in the world with an annual gross domestic product of about $15 billion.

She added that the country is the ninth largest export market for Iowa.

Briefings on the economy, history and legal system of South Korea filled the group’s first full day in the country. Halsted said those briefings were provided by the staff of the United States embassy, a South Korean law firm and the American Chamber of Commerce, which serves as an ombudsman for U.S. companies with investments in South Korea.

On the following day, the delegation visited the headquarters of CJ CheilJedang Corp. That’s the parent company of CJ Bio America.

Halsted also visited another company, which she declined to name, that is considering a potential investment in the United States.

Other activities that day included a meeting with representatives of the Korean International Trade Association and a reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador Mark W. Lippert.

During its third full day in the country, the delegation visited Seoul National University, the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency and the headquarters of PMX, which has a facility in Cedar Rapids. Halsted said PMX was the first South Korean company to invest in Iowa. A dinner with representatives of the South Korean biotech industry capped off the day.

The fourth full day in South Korea provided the only chance for some sightseeing. The delegation visited Namsan Tower, a communications and observation tower that’s a landmark in Seoul, and the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.