Korean business leaders to visit US amid AI project talks, trade negotiations
From left, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo attend a meeting on economic security strategy at the prime minister's official residence in Seoul, April 1. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
Heads of Korea's major conglomerates are set to travel to the United States this week at the invitation of SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son to discuss cooperation on a massive artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure project, according to industry sources Wednesday.
Son recently invited the heads of Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG to visit the U.S. as SoftBank pushes ahead with the US$500 billion Stargate project, aimed at building a network of AI data centers across the country in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle, according to the sources.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, currently in Japan for a trilateral economic dialogue involving Korea, the U.S. and Japan, are expected to head to the U.S. shortly.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is reportedly scheduled to depart on Thursday, while LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is also expected to join the delegation.
Their visit will coincide with the trip to Washington by presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who are slated to hold follow-up discussions on the ongoing bilateral tariff negotiations.
Industry watchers say the business leaders' visit may serve to back the government's negotiating position by presenting U.S. investment plans by the business conglomerates.
In late August, Lee and Chung, along with Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, traveled to the U.S. ahead of a bilateral summit, lending weight to government efforts in the negotiations.
The upcoming meeting is expected to take place at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, the private resort of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Although it remains unclear whether Trump will attend the upcoming meeting, observers said the choice of venue raises the possibility of a surprise encounter among Trump and the Korean business leaders.