'Chung Yong-jin Visits the U.S., Attends Vice President's Christmas Dinner as Sole Korean Business Leader... What Was Discussed?'

[Financial News] Chung Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group, attended a Christmas dinner hosted by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, where he engaged in extensive networking with political and business leaders. Notably, he discussed cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) export initiatives with senior officials from The White House, drawing attention to potential outcomes.
Shinsegae Group announced on the 14th that Chairman Chung participated in the dinner held at Vice President Vance’s residence in Washington, D.C. on December 12 (local time).
Other attendees included Howard William Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce; Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense; Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff at The White House; and Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff at The White House. Business leaders such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Shyam Sankar, Chief Operating Officer of Palantir Technologies, were also present.
Prior to the dinner, Chairman Chung visited The White House and met with senior officials, including Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Kratsios previously served as U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering during the first Donald Trump administration, and is currently responsible for the U.S. government’s AI strategy in Trump’s second term.
During the meeting, Chairman Chung and Director Kratsios discussed collaboration on the America AI Exports Program. In October, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the launch of the America AI Exports Program, aiming to export AI technology systems as a package worldwide. According to Shinsegae Group, Chung expressed interest in adopting advanced technologies to modernize the retail sector.
Chung Yong-jin also serves as the Asia Chairman of Rockbridge Network and is a director of Rockbridge Network Korea, which was officially launched as a think tank in October. Rockbridge Network is a major U.S. conservative political fundraising organization that played a key role in Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
clean@fnnews.com Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter