Jensen Huang's Take on Korea's AI Competitiveness: Beyond Semiconductors, Its "Capacity to Embrace Technology" Is Its Weapon

【Financial News, New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul】Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, described South Korea as a unique country that both "creates" artificial intelligence (AI) and can rapidly spread it throughout industry and society. He said the combination of the country's world-class semiconductor and manufacturing base with a society that actively embraces new technologies could give it a level of competitiveness that exceeds its population size in the AI era. Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, also emphasized their respective AI partnerships with NVIDIA, highlighting an "AI alliance" between Korean companies and the chipmaker.■"South Korea Can Punch Above Its Weight with AI" At The Korea Society's 2026 annual gala in New York on the 28th, local time, Huang said, "South Korea is a very unique, almost one-of-a-kind country in that it can both consume AI and export it. One of the truly special things about South Korea is that society as a whole loves technology."
 He cited how the United States rapidly spread technologies born in Europe during the Industrial Revolution across its industries and economy. "South Korea can invent technology, while also spreading it throughout society," Huang explained. "That's because Korean society welcomes and embraces technology."
 Huang also said AI could help South Korea overcome the constraint of its population size. "South Korea's aspirations are greater than the size of its human capital," he said. "It is a small country in terms of its total population, but by using AI and automation, it can exert power far beyond its weight."
He identified semiconductors and manufacturing as key competitive strengths supporting that potential. "South Korea is one of the countries with the world's best semiconductor industries and is a leading supplier of technology," Huang said. "South Korea will not only produce AI technology, but will also play a very significant role in transforming its own manufacturing sector through AI, robotics and physical AI."■33-Year Relationship with Samsung and SK: "We'll Work Together for Another 33 Years" NVIDIA's partnerships with Korean companies are already expanding beyond semiconductors into the broader AI industry. Huang said Samsung Electronics and SK "have already been working with us on product development for many years," adding that Korea's manufacturing capabilities and capacity are "clearly among the best in the world." He added, "I couldn't be more confident in relying on SK, Samsung and South Korea."
 The partnerships are expanding to companies such as LG and Hyundai Motor. Huang explained that NVIDIA is working with Korean companies on semiconductor manufacturing, robotics, power and autonomous driving, while also pursuing the development of sovereign AI language models and the establishment of AI labs in South Korea. "Our cooperation with South Korea is broad, deep and very long-term," he said. "We have been working with South Korea for 33 years, and we will work with South Korea for another 33 years."
 He also responded positively to the possibility that Korean companies' expansion of production in the United States could drive up costs. In response to concerns that memory produced in the United States could become more expensive, Huang said, "We are already paying a premium for memory, regardless of where it is produced." He added, "It is also good for supply-chain resilience that SK and Samsung are spreading their production facilities across various locations around the world." He continued, "Just as the United States investing in South Korea is good for the relationship between the two countries, the supply chain and job creation, South Korea investing in the United States is good for all of those things as well." He emphasized that it was "a net positive overall."
 Korean companies also emphasized their "AI alliance." Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, congratulated Huang on receiving the James A. Van Fleet Award and said, "Both of our companies are betting everything on AI." Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, succinctly described the roles of the two companies, saying, "NVIDIA designs the brain, and SK makes the memory."
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