Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Lee meets Korea’s top biz leaders before Trump summit
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with business leaders who will join his trip to the United States at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Lee, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Gee-won. Courtesy of the presidential office
By Nam Hyun-woo
Business leaders weigh responses to Washington’s investment push
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday met Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and other top business leaders who are set to join the president on his visit to the United States next week, in an apparent effort to explore Seoul’s responses to Washington’s investment push.
According to the presidential office, President Lee and the business leaders shared their views and opinions on the current economic and business landscape ahead of his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.
Attending the meeting were business leaders from the shipbuilding, semiconductor, automotive, defense, biotechnology and energy sectors.
Participants included Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Ryu Jin, Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Gee-won, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin and Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon.
Alongside them, a total of 15 economic organizations and business groups will join Lee on his U.S. visit.
“The accompanying businesses range across diverse sectors such as shipbuilding, aerospace, semiconductors, batteries, automobiles, energy and critical minerals,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.
“There was much to discuss in those areas, and the meeting served as an opportunity to share views on how governments and companies can work together during negotiations and the summit.”
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, back row fourth from left, speaks during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung, center front row, during their meeting at the presidential office. From left back row are Celltrion Chairman Seo Jeong-jin, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Ryu Jin, Chey, and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan. Courtesy of the presidential office
The focal point of Lee’s U.S. visit is the specifics of the trade agreement between Seoul and Washington.
On July 31, the two countries reached an agreement that reduced the planned U.S. blanket tariff from 25 percent to 15 percent in exchange for Korea’s commitment of $350 billion in investments and $100 billion in U.S. energy purchases. Since the details for the agreement were not settled, the business community here assumes that Trump may expect a concrete road map for the investment pledge.
“Tariff negotiations don’t get usually finalized by nature, so the discussions went through with business leaders expressing hopes for a successful summit,” Kang said.
For now, shipbuilding appears to be the clearest area. Of its pledged investment, Korea proposed to invest $150 billion into the so-called “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” (MASGA) project, which aims to revitalize U.S. shipyards through Korean investment.
With various scenarios and analyses surfacing, industry officials expect that the MASGA project could take shape with the U.S. delivering more specific demands on ship maintenance outsourcing, the construction of new shipyards in the U.S. and workforce training.
The spokesperson said President Lee and participants, including Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim, discussed shipbuilding during the meeting because it is “a critical point of the trade negotiations,” but did not disclose details.
With heavier tariff burdens on key export items such as semiconductors, automobiles, batteries and steel, the business leaders are also believed to have touched on the government’s support for their U.S. export strategies and investment plans.
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with business leaders who will join his trip to the United States at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Lee, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Gee-won. Courtesy of the presidential office
Samsung Electronics operates chip foundry plants in Austin and Taylor, Texas, and the company is widely expected to unveil additional investment plans in the near future, as the company logged large-scale foundry orders from large U.S. tech companies recently. During its earnings call for the second quarter of this year, the company said, “Capital expenditure is expected to increase further in 2026 given the timeline for the Taylor plant’s operation.”
SK hynix is building an advanced packaging plant in Indiana to cope with rising demand for its high-bandwidth memory chips for artificial intelligence processors.
Since Trump has said “there will be no charge” for companies making semiconductor investments in the U.S., the two companies are expected to receive tariff waivers, but concerns remain over continued U.S. pressure to ramp up their investments.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard / Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean
Battery makers are also expected to face increased pressure for investments in the U.S.
LG Energy Solution currently operates production bases in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, and is also building standalone plants in Arizona and Lansing, Michigan. SK On is preparing to start operations of BlueOval SK’s Kentucky plant, a joint venture with Ford, in the third quarter of this year.
Hyundai Motor Group unveiled its massive U.S. investment plan during Executive Chairman Chung Eui-sun’s meeting with Trump in March, and now hopes the Lee-Trump summit will help move forward the timeline for reducing the 25 percent tariff on Korean automobiles to 15 percent.
“President Lee stressed that the government’s top priority is to revive the economy and lay the foundation for sustainable growth,” the presidential spokesperson said. “He acknowledged that both the government and businesses are struggling amid changing export conditions, but urged joint efforts to turn the crisis into an opportunity.”