Business leaders to watch at APEC CEO Summit

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address at the CES tech trade show in Las Vegas, Jan. 6. AFP-Yonhap

Business leaders from the world's top companies have been gathering in Korea’s historic southeastern city of Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province to sharpen their global strategies and explore new business opportunities at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.

Notable participants include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun and the heads of Korea’s most influential conglomerates, including the leaders of Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai Motor.

Following a welcome reception on Tuesday, the main events will begin on Wednesday with an opening speech by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as chairman of the 2025 APEC CEO Summit and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He will address cutting-edge technologies and how rapidly changing global supply chains are reshaping the future business landscape.

Huang, who co-founded Nvidia, the world’s highest-valued chipmaker, will deliver a special address on Friday about future business paradigms being driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

He is widely expected to meet with the heads of Korea’s most influential memory chipmakers — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — and strengthen their alliances in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and AI.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the presidential office in Seoul, Oct. 1. Chey also serves as chairman of the 2025 APEC CEO Summit. Yonhap

If the meeting takes place, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong is widely expected to discuss new HBM chip orders with Huang amid soaring demand for AI services.

Chey will also look to strengthen SK Group's long-standing partnership with Nvidia. SK hynix is the global market leader for HBM chips and one of Nvidia’s most reliable partners.

Huang may also visit the chip production lines of both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix during his upcoming visit.

Zeng Yuqun, right, chairman of Chinese battery giant CATL, walks at a hotel in Beijing, April 29, 2024. Reuters-Yonhap

CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun also confirmed his attendance at the APEC CEO Summit. As the leader of the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, he will likely hold a closed-door meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun.

Given Hyundai’s unwavering commitment to expanding its global EV market share, the Korean carmaker needs to diversify its supply sources with high-quality, price-competitive battery makers.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, center, listens as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, speaks during the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable at the Willard InterContinental Washington, Aug. 25 (local time). Yonhap

Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman also confirmed his attendance. He will deliver a speech on the AI-driven economy on Wednesday and discuss the role of AI in the evolving internet industry.

Other key executives include Simon Kahn, vice president of marketing for Asia-Pacific at Google, and Meta Vice President Simon Milner.

Ulrich Homann, corporate vice president of cloud and AI at Microsoft, will shed light on the topic of agentic AI for smarter energy as part of a panel discussion.

Other tech leaders likely to attend include Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, although their names have not yet appeared on the official attendance list.

From left are Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, Google Vice President Simon Kahn and Meta Vice President Simon Milner. Courtesy of KCCI

A number of other Korean tech-savvy business leaders will join the event in search of fresh business opportunities.

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, Korea’s most influential internet portal operator, will deliver a keynote speech to share her insights on the future of AI and the internet.

HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Cho Seok is set to speak on carbon neutrality and strategies for a sustainable future, while POSCO Holdings CEO Chang In-hwa will focus on global supply chain sustainability in his keynote speech.

The 2025 APEC CEO Summit will also be a venue to discuss crucial topics such as health care, sustainable energy and the global economy.

Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, is set to share his views on the role of technology and the future of health care during a special panel discussion. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser will discuss the future of the global economy during a keynote speech on the final day of the event on Friday.