The 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, an event where leaders and businesspeople from 21 Asia-Pacific countries gather to discuss global economic issues and seek solutions, opened in Gyeongju. This year's event is the largest ever in terms of the number of sessions, the scale of speakers, the number of top-level dignitaries, and the duration.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held the 2025 APEC CEO Summit on the morning of the 29th at Hwarang Hall of Gyeongju Arts Center. About 1,700 people, including President Lee Jae-myung, chairmen of major Korean groups, global businesspeople, and experts, attended the CEO Summit's opening ceremony.
From Korea, attendees included Summit Chair Chey Tae-won, KORCHAM chairman and SK Group chairman; Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics chairman; Chung Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor Group chairman; Koo Kwang-mo, LG Group chairman; Shin Dong-bin, Lotte Group chairman; Chang In-hwa, POSCO Holdings chairman; Chung Ki-sun, HD Hyundai chairman; Huh Tae-soo, GS chairman; Chung Yong-jin, Shinsegae chairman; Park Jeong-won, Doosan Group chairman; Yang Jong-hee, KB Financial Group chairman; Jin Ok-dong, Shinhan Financial Group chairman; Ham Young-joo, Hana Financial Group chairman; Yim Jong-ryong, Woori Financial Group chairman; Yeo Seung-ju, Hanwha vice chairman; Woo Kee-Hong, Korean Air vice chairman; Lee Seok-joon, CJ vice chairman; Oh Kyoung-suk, Dunamu CEO; Lee Kyu-ho, Kolon vice chairman; Choi Soo-yeon, Naver CEO; Choi Yoon-beom, Korea Zinc chairman; Hong Jong-sung, Korea Deloitte Group managing partner; Jeong Gye-seong, Kim & Chang managing partner; Lee Joo-wan, Megazone Cloud chairman; Ahn Sung-hoon, HS Hyosung CEO; and Oh Seung-pil, KT CTO.
International business figures included Kevin Xu, MEBO Group chairman; David Hill, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) CEO; Simon Kahn, Google APAC vice president; Matt Garman, AWS CEO; Jane Fraser, Citigroup CEO; Anthony Cook, Microsoft vice president; Simon Milner, Meta vice president of public policy; Shin Seong-pil, TikTok Korea head of public policy; Joaquin Duato, Johnson & Johnson CEO; Harold Rogers, chief administrative officer (CAO); Zeng Chongqin, WL Automotive chairman; Craig Katerberg, AB InBev CLO; Wang Yangbin, Baowail CEO; and Van Hol, Corning representative.
Representing the host local government, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo and Matthias Cormann, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) secretary-general and a speaker at the summit, also appeared. Leaders of economic organizations, including Ryu Jin, The Federation of Korean Industries chairman; Sohn Kyung-shik, Korea Enterprises Federation chairman; Yoon Jin-sik, Korea International Trade Association chairman; Kim Ki-moon, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises chairman; and James Kim, American Chamber of Commerce in Korea chairman, were also present.
◇ Record numbers of sessions, speakers, and participating leaders
This Gyeongju APEC CEO Summit is being held on the largest scale in the past 30 years in terms of sessions, speakers, and the number of participating top-level dignitaries.
Looking at the APEC CEO Summits held over the past three years, the U.S. event in 2023 had 15 sessions, 51 speakers, nine participating leaders, and ran for three days. Last year's Peru event had 14 sessions, 48 speakers, nine participating leaders, and also ran for three days. This year's Gyeongju event has increased to 20 sessions, about 70 speakers, and 14 participating leaders. The duration has also been extended by one day to four days.
In addition, CEOs and key officials from major global corporations representing the market, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, Johnson & Johnson, MEBO, and CATL, will visit to give lectures and join discussions.
KORCHAM said, "Another highlight of this summit is networking among high-level figures," adding, "We created many opportunities for national leaders and global CEOs to meet directly, talk freely, and naturally discuss investment and cooperation on the spot."
This year's summit theme is "3B (Bridge, Business, Beyond)." It carries a vision that corporations (Business), as the drivers of innovation, will play the role of a bridge (Bridge) connecting governments and corporations, and governments and governments, to build a better future (Beyond).
The main sessions this year will proceed in line with the 3B theme. The plenary, starting on the 29th, will take "connection" on the 29th, "corporations" on the 30th, and "future" on the 31st as themes, with 20 sessions featuring corporate officials and global opinion leaders as speakers.
◇ U.S. President Trump, Japan Prime Minister Takaichi, and CEO Jensen Huang to take the stage
Foreign leaders will also take the podium in special sessions of the CEO Summit. The first speaker will be U.S. President Donald Trump. They will be followed by Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto, Vietnam President Luong Cuong, Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, Chile President Gabriel Boric, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney.
On the 29th, nine sessions will be held on topics including the world economy, AI, finance, K-culture, digital currency, and carbon neutrality. Starting with David Hill, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) Asia-Pacific CEO, speakers will include OECD Secretary-General Matthias Cormann; Matt Garman, AWS CEO; Choi Soo-yeon, Naver CEO; Simon Milner, Meta vice president of public policy; Kim Sang-hyun, Lotte Group head of Retail HQ; Anna Bjerde, World Bank managing director of operations; Lyu Changdong, JD.com, Inc. CEO; and RM of the K-pop group BTS.
On the 30th, six sessions will be held on supply chains, AI roadmaps, digital markets, healthcare, and next-generation energy. Speakers will include POSCO Holdings chairman Chang In-hwa; Anthony Cook, Microsoft vice president; Simon Kahn, Google APAC vice president; and Jang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman. In the morning, Kristalina Georgieva, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director, will give a lecture on global economic trends and responses.
On the final day, the 31st, five sessions will be held on energy, healthcare, and the future economy roadmap. Speakers will include Cho Seok-jin, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) executive vice president of technology; Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general; Choi Jae-won, SK Group senior vice chairman; Joaquin Duato, Johnson & Johnson CEO; and Jane Fraser, Citigroup CEO.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will take the stage as the summit's final speaker to discuss the direction and growth outlook of the AI market.