President Lee Holds Private Dinner with Choi Tae-won, Discusses Honam Semiconductor and U.S. Investment

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung is reported to have held a private dinner meeting with SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won at an undisclosed location in Seoul on the evening of the 20th. The two are said to have discussed the Honam semiconductor cluster and other Three Mega-Projects, as well as the issue of the United States pressuring companies to invest on the basis of tariff negotiations.
The meeting between President Lee and Choi came about a month after their last encounter at the AI for Good Global Summit in San Francisco in July. It was also two months after they met privately in June ahead of the announcement of the Three Mega-Projects.
However, Cheong Wa Dae took a cautious stance, saying, "It is difficult to confirm private schedules," in response to questions about whether the meeting between President Lee and Choi had taken place.
Political circles are also speculating that President Lee will continue meeting with business leaders, including Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Meanwhile, President Lee presided over the Senior Presidential Aides Meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on the same day and urged officials to "work together to pursue uninterrupted reform and continued reform for people's livelihoods." He added, "Uninterrupted reform is more necessary than ever to correct unfairness, irregularities and abnormal practices that weigh on people's lives," and said, "We must focus on responding to economic disruptions such as hoarding, collusion, stock manipulation and illegal receipt of state funds, as well as digital sex crimes, drugs, serious industrial accidents and corruption among public officials."
He also pointed to a weakening of public service discipline, saying, "A little over 20% of the term has passed, and it feels like it has gone by very quickly." He noted that, from the public's perspective, there are still many areas that remain insufficient or need to move faster. In particular, he said policy-making often fails to fully consider conditions on the ground or the public's ability to accept them, and that policy implementation often falls short of expectations.
He stressed that "in previous administrations as well, there were frequent cases in which public trust was lost because of lax discipline during periods when tension eased in the early part of a term," adding, "We must learn from past cases and avoid repeating the same mistake."
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter