Which Korean business leaders will Jensen Huang meet at his second "chicken and beer" gathering?

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will hold a series of meetings with leaders of major South Korean companies during his visit to Korea, following his schedule for GTC Taipei, the annual artificial intelligence conference that opened in Taiwan this week. He plans to meet with Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group, Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group and Lee Hae-jin of Naver to discuss ways to expand cooperation in AI semiconductors and physical AI. He is also expected to attend a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game and meet with business leaders. After strengthening ties with Korea and semiconductor cooperation through a "chicken and beer" meeting last October, Huang is now expected to broaden the scope of collaboration, with robotics emerging as a key focus.
According to industry sources on the 1st, Huang will arrive in Korea on the evening of the 4th after wrapping up major events such as GTC Taipei in Taiwan. He is then expected to begin his official schedule on the 5th with meetings with top business leaders. This will be his first visit to Korea in about seven months, following his attendance at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju last October and the so-called "gkanbu" meeting.
Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group and Lee Hae-jin of Naver are expected to attend the meetings. Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group is also reportedly considering whether to join. Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, is said to be unable to attend because of an overseas schedule.
A restaurant in the Seongsu area is being widely mentioned as the likely venue. Last year, Huang held a "gkanbu" meeting with Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun at a fried chicken restaurant, and he is expected to use another informal setting this year to further strengthen his network with major Korean business leaders. Preparations for Huang's visit are also understood to have involved his eldest daughter, Madison Huang, senior director of product marketing for NVIDIA Omniverse and robotics, as she did last year.
Industry observers say the meeting could expand cooperation between NVIDIA and Korean companies beyond AI semiconductors to include robotics and physical AI.
Huang is also expected to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Doosan Bears home game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 7th, and to hold a luncheon with major business figures at The Shilla Seoul. He will also broaden his contacts in the tech sector. On the 8th, he is expected to visit Naver 1784, the company's second headquarters in Bundang District, Seongnam.


soup@fnnews.com Lim Su-bin Reporter