The Asia-Pacific region's largest private economic forum, the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, will be held for four days starting on the 28th in the Hwarang Village area of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. This event, taking place in Korea for the first time in 20 years since the 2005 Busan APEC, will draw around 1,700 CEOs from domestic and international corporations, including 16 leaders from among APEC's 21 member economies.
According to the business community on the 28th, the summit will be attended by Chair Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, the heads of the four major conglomerates.
Also attending are Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, POSCO Holdings Chairman Chang In-hwa, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Kwan, GS Chairman Huh Tae-soo, GS Caltex CEO Hur Sae-hong, Doosan Chairman Park Jeong-won, NAVER CEO Choi Soo-yeon, Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yoon-beom, and HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk.
The most watched figure at this summit is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Visiting Korea for the first time in 15 years since 2010, Huang will present a future technology vision on the 31st, covering AI, Robotics, Digital Twin, and autonomous driving. He will also hold a briefing with domestic and international media.
In particular, Jensen Huang is said to hold separate meetings with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won. The discussions are expected to cover AI Semiconductor cooperation, including next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).
Earlier this month in the United States, Chairmen Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won agreed to cooperate on the OpenAI-led "Stargate Project." With SoftBank Chairman Son Masayoshi also likely to attend the Gyeongju summit, observers say a semiconductor and AI alliance among Korea, the United States, and Japan could enter full swing.
From the United States, a large contingent of global big tech and finance figures will attend, including: Matt Garman, Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO; Sameer Samat, Google president; Antony Cook and Ulrich Homann, Microsoft (MS) vice presidents; Simon Milner, Meta vice president; and Jane Fraser, Citigroup CEO.
China, led by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), will dispatch a delegation of about 100 people, including: Zeng Yuqun, CATL chairman; Richard Liu Qiangdong, JD.com chairman; Eddie Wu, Alibaba CEO; and Chew Shou Zi, TikTok CEO.
The theme of this CEO summit is "Bridge, Business, Beyond: building new partnerships through innovative corporate activity." On the 27th, six advanced technology tech forums were held, covering shipbuilding, defense, distribution, AI, virtual currency, and future energy. In shipbuilding, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun served as a presenter.
The main program runs from the 29th to the 31st, with nine sessions on the first day on topics including AI, digital transformation, digital currency, K-culture, and carbon neutrality.
AWS CEO Matt Garman will deliver a keynote on "The future of business transformed by AI," and in the afternoon, BTS leader RM will give a special address on "The soft power of K-culture."
On the 30th, six sessions will cover semiconductor, supply chains, Digital Healthcare, and hydrogen energy cooperation, and on the 31st, topics will include AI governance, data centers, innovation in medical services, and the energy transition, including Jensen Huang's keynote.
On the 31st, the "Asia Pacific LNG Connect" session will also be held. SK Group Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won and SK Innovation CEO Choo Hyeong-wook will attend.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a keynote at a luncheon on the 29th. Chinese President Xi Jinping will also visit Korea for two nights and three days starting on the 30th, and a "super week" is expected as summit diplomacy among Korea, the United States, and China intersects.