Major business leaders from South Korea and the U.S. are increasingly engaging in 'shuttle business,' directly coordinating business matters across both countries. After Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, visited Korea, South Korean executives including Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics and Chey Tae-won of SK Group met with him again in the U.S. Bill Gates, founder of TerraPower, is also returning to Korea after a year.
According to industry sources on August 13, Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group, is expected to meet with Huang in the U.S. on August 14. The two previously discussed collaboration in physical AI and robotics on June 8 at LG Twin Towers in Seoul.
Huang's back-and-forth meetings with South Korean executives have been ongoing since last year. He first visited Korea in October 2022 during APEC, where he met with Lee and Chey. At that time, NVIDIA announced plans for a large-scale AI infrastructure collaboration with Samsung, SK Group, and Hyundai Motor Group. When Huang returned to Korea in June 2023, he met with Chey, Lee, and Koo in succession.
A month later, the focus shifted as Lee, Chey, and Lee Hae-jin, chairman of Naver's board, visited NVIDIA's headquarters in California on July 24 to meet with Huang. Chey also met with Huang separately the day before. SK Hynix and NVIDIA expanded their long-term collaboration framework related to next-generation AI memory, including HBM.
Similar movements are occurring in the energy sector. Gates is set to visit Korea on August 14 to engage with SK and HD Hyundai. He previously met with Chey and Chung Ki-sun, chairman of HD Hyundai, in Seoul last August. Chey had met Gates in the U.S. in March 2022 to sign an agreement to expand the supply chain for sodium reactors, and they reunited in Davos in January 2023. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries secured a supply quantity for TerraPower's reactor vessels.
Industry insiders view the increasing interest from U.S. tech leaders in South Korean companies as a reflection of the changing status of the South Korean economy. The repeated meetings between CEOs signify that South Korean firms are establishing themselves as long-term partners in the global advanced industry supply chain, moving beyond one-time supply contracts.
One industry source stated, "In industries like AI and energy, where large-scale investments and long-term collaborations are essential, securing stable technology and production capabilities is crucial. Given that South Korean companies are part of the core supply chain, ongoing exchanges among executives are likely to lead to new investments and joint ventures."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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