[Exclusive] Jensen Huang Initially Planned Three-Way Dinner with Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won, Later Changed to Meeting with Chung Eui-sun

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), will meet with Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, for dinner at a chicken restaurant near Samseong-dong, Seoul, on the 30th. The original plan was a three-way meeting with Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, Lee Jae-yong, and Jensen Huang, but about a month ago, the lineup was adjusted to Lee Jae-yong, Chung Eui-sun, and Jensen Huang. The global business community is paying close attention to this gathering of leaders from the semiconductor and mobility industries.
According to industry sources, CEO Jensen Huang has been seeking a meeting with Chairman Lee Jae-yong since about a month ago. After their much-discussed embrace at the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable during President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to the United States in late August, this upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and CEO Summit in Gyeongju provided the opportunity for another meeting.
The push for this meeting reportedly gained momentum in recent weeks.
Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group entered into a strategic partnership with Nvidia, forming an 'AI alliance' to collaborate on robotics, autonomous driving, and smart factories. Hyundai Motor Group is also launching satellites such as Starlink and is pursuing autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, smart cars (SDVs), and robotics to compete with Tesla. This requires AI data centers and Nvidia’s autonomous driving systems. Industry insiders speculate that during Huang’s visit, an announcement of an 'Nvidia-Samsung-Hyundai Motor Group AI business alliance'—focused on AI data centers and robotics, which are of mutual interest—may be imminent. Ahead of his visit, Huang stated, “There will be an announcement that will make the Korean people happy.” Earlier this month, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, visited Korea and held a series of meetings with Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won, including a three-way meeting with President Lee Jae-myung. Similarly, another round of high-profile meetings for the Korea-U.S. AI alliance is expected.
After the meeting with Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun, Jensen Huang plans to meet separately with Chey Tae-won and other SK Group executives in Gyeongju on the 31st. This series of meetings highlights the ongoing collaboration between Nvidia, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and SK Group, with a focus on the AI industry. In a recent Q3 earnings call, SK hynix did not disclose customer names but confirmed it would begin supplying HBM4 in Q4, effectively confirming Nvidia as a recipient. Nvidia is currently the only company capable of purchasing HBM4. Attention is also focused on whether Samsung Electronics will announce HBM4 supply in its Q3 earnings release.
Meanwhile, after meeting with Huang, Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun plan to return to Gyeongju on the 31st. There is also anticipation for meetings with key leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting Korea for the first time in 11 years.
ehcho@fnnews.com Cho Eun-hyo Reporter