Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo, POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, and CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, among other business leaders, left for China on the 4th.
They are accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on a state visit to China. More than 200 business leaders, including the heads of these groups, are joining the president's trip. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry also formed an economic delegation to China for the first time in six years since December 2019.
Chey Tae-won departed from the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at about 2:55 p.m. the same day, saying, "I hope the delegation to China, the first in six years, yields good results," and, "We will work to find good growth clues."
The delegation will attend a Korea-China business forum and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony on economic cooperation in China. They also have scheduled events such as one-on-one business meetings organized by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
It has been about eight years since a South Korean president visited China as a state guest, following President Moon Jae-in in Dec. 2017. Because of this, expectations are that rebuilding economic cooperation between the two countries will be a key agenda item during this summit.
In particular, as China is both a production base and a key market for Korea's mainstay industries such as semiconductors, batteries, displays, and automobiles, related industry discussions are expected.
Samsung operates NAND flash and semiconductor packaging plants in Xi'an and Suzhou, China. SK runs DRAM plants and NAND packaging plants in Wuxi and Chongqing, and a NAND plant in Dalian.
Hyundai Motor Group has production plants in Beijing and Yancheng, and LG has plants in Nanjing that produce batteries, electric vehicle parts, and displays.