Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group, along with other major business leaders in the South Korea-U.S. summit economic delegation, departed for the United States on the 24th.
President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the 25th to discuss issues related to the South Korea-U.S. alliance as well as follow-up measures regarding tariffs.
The business leaders are expected to accompany President Lee as part of the economic delegation, supporting the strengthening of bilateral ties through South Korea-U.S. economic cooperation. In particular, there is keen interest in whether they will pursue additional investments in the U.S. as a result of this summit.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, departed through the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) around noon on the 24th. When asked by reporters about his resolve as part of the economic delegation to the U.S., he replied briefly, "I will work hard." Around the same time, Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group, and Kim Dong-kwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group, also entered the departure lounge.
Lee Jae-yong entered the departure lounge at around 3:50 p.m. on the same day. Samsung Electronics decided to invest $17 billion (about 23.6 trillion won) by 2030 to expand its semiconductor production base in Taylor, Texas, following an increase in total U.S. investments to $37 billion (51 trillion won) last year. Recently, it secured large supply contracts with Tesla and Apple.
The economic delegation for this trip to the U.S. includes Lee Jae-yong, Chey Tae-won, Koo Kwang-mo, and Kim Dong-kwan, along with Ryu Jin, chairman of Poongsan Group (chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries), Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, Jeong Ki-sun, vice chairman of HD Hyundai, and Park Ji-won, chairman of Doosan Enerbility.
The core industries led by these groups include semiconductors, automobiles, batteries, shipbuilding, energy, and nuclear power. These corporations are recently making investments in the U.S. or strengthening cooperation with American companies.
The business sector expects that various industrial cooperation between the two countries, including semiconductors, batteries, and nuclear power, will be discussed at this South Korea-U.S. summit, forecasting potential for another industrial collaboration through the South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation 'Make America Shipbuilding Great Again' (MASGA) project.