More Talked About Than the '100 Trillion Won Samso Gathering': Koo Kwang-mo's Pork Belly Cutting

[Financial News] NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who wrapped up a packed five-day schedule and departed Seoul on the 9th by private jet from the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, unexpectedly became the subject of a late online buzz.

The scene came from the so-called 'samso' gathering of top figures from Korea's IT and business circles, held during Huang's visit to Korea. What drew attention was LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo's now-famous way of cutting pork belly.
According to industry sources, Huang, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Naver board chairman Lee Hae-jin met for dinner on the 5th at a pork belly restaurant near Hongik University station in Seoul.

The sight of the leaders of global AI companies sharing pork belly and soju while speaking candidly drew major attention as it was broadcast in real time.
The combined market capitalization of the companies they lead is reportedly close to 10 quadrillion won, which led online users to nickname the event the '100 trillion won samso gathering.'
But what really caught netizens' eyes was not the AI cooperation discussions, but Koo's way of preparing the pork belly. As the youngest attendee at 48, Koo took on the role of grilling and cutting the meat throughout the meal, holding tongs and scissors to accommodate Chey, 66, Huang, 63, and Lee, 59. He was also seen refilling the older guests' water glasses and handing out napkins.
What netizens focused on was the scissor work. In the released video, Koo did not cut the pork belly in the usual way, where lean meat and fat remain mixed together. Instead, he sliced it horizontally, almost separating the fatty part. It was different from the common approach that values the balance of fat and lean meat in pork belly.


As the video spread across online communities and social network services (SNS), netizens responded with humor.

Comments included, "Cutting off the fat from pork belly is too big a risk," "This is an owner risk," "He should explain it morally," "Is he trying to cut the stock price in half too?" and "Is this a signal for a split listing?"
Some also defended Koo, saying, "A conglomerate chairman can have personal tastes," "He may have been trying to eat less fat because of diet management," and "It is too much to criticize even his scissor work when he was already working hard as the youngest member."

Meanwhile, Huang departed on the 9th after completing his five-day visit to Korea. Speaking to reporters at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC), he said, "The welcome was wonderful, and my family and I truly felt warmly received."
During the visit, Huang announced plans to expand multi-year cooperation with SK hynix, as well as ways to work with Naver and SK Telecom on AI infrastructure and cloud partnerships.

Huang said, "We had very good meetings and announced good partnerships," adding, "We signed a multi-year partnership with SK hynix to expand business and diversify cooperation, and we also formed AI cloud partnerships with Naver and SK Telecom."

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter