Bill Gates reaffirms ties with Korean business leaders

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, second from right, escorts Bill Gates at the Korean company's office building in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Bill Gates, best known for co-founding Microsoft, wrapped up his first visit to Korea in three years following a series of meetings with business leaders here.

Before his departure, Gates visited Samsung Electronics' building in Seoul on Friday to meet Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong of the Korean conglomerate, talking about possible ways of cooperation in global social contribution during a lunch with him.

A day earlier, Gates attended a dinner hosted by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won at the conglomerate's headquarters in Seoul, after meeting Korean policymakers, including President Lee Jae Myung, in his capacity as the chairman of the Gates Foundation, one of the world's largest charity organizations.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, shakes hands with Bill Gates at the Korean conglomerate's headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of SK Group

SK Group said Chey and Gates discussed strategic cooperation for the development and commercialization of small modular reactor (SMR) technologies owned by TerraPower, the U.S. company founded in 2008 by the American entrepreneur.

Gates chairs TerraPower's board, while SK is the SMR company's second-largest shareholder through a $250 million investment in 2022.

"I believe Korea and SK will be able to play key roles in commercializing TerraPower's SMRs," Chey said at the dinner. "Building on the safety, efficiency and eco-friendliness of SMR technology, we should work together so that the market embraces this innovation."

According to SK Group, Gates emphasized the need for the Korean government to establish regulatory frameworks and supply chains for next-generation SMRs, saying he expects SK and TerraPower to lead the global market.

With the attendance of SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong and SK Biopharmaceuticals Vice President Chey Yoon-chung, the oldest daughter of the SK chairman, participants at the dinner also discussed enhancing their decade-long collaboration to ensure vaccine access for low-income countries.

A day after the dinner, senior executives from SK Group met Gates again at Conrad Seoul to continue discussions on SMRs.

Joined by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, the meeting focused on investments by SK and TerraPower in the SMR sector and progress in developing commercial reactors in partnership with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. SK also requested government support for the SMR industry to help the company take the lead in this fast-growing field.

HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Ki-sun, right, shakes hands with Bill Gates in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of HD Hyundai

That same day, HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Ki-sun met Gates to review the commercialization of Natrium reactors, which the Korean company and TerraPower agreed to pursue last March when their leaders met in the U.S.

The Natrium reactor is a fourth-generation sodium-cooled fast reactor developed by TerraPower, which produces electricity by cooling the heat generated from fast neutron fission with liquid sodium. Among SMRs, it has high safety and technological maturity and generates 40 percent less nuclear waste compared to conventional reactors.

Last December, HD Hyundai signed a contract with TerraPower to supply the cylindrical reactor vessel for the U.S. firm's first Natrium reactor.

"Next-generation SMR technology is a core solution for realizing sustainable future energy," Chung said.

"Our partnership with TerraPower will serve as a turning point in building a global nuclear supply chain and advancing the transition in the energy paradigm."