"Korea has amazing partner corporations. Tomorrow we will make an important announcement with President Lee Jae-myung and partner corporations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit."
At about 7:22 p.m. on the 30th in front of the chicken specialty restaurant "Kkanbu Chicken" in Gangnam District, Seoul. Jensen Huang, Nvidia chief executive officer (CEO), appeared in his trademark black leather jacket, pushing through a crowd of hundreds. Responding to requests from the thronging crowd for photos and more, he stood before reporters. Following behind, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared, cheerfully greeting him with a shout of "Hey, Jensen." Around the same time, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun also entered the restaurant.
Asked by reporters whether he knew the meaning of chimaek and why he chose the Kkanbu Chicken location, CEO Huang joked, "Isn't it healthy?" before answering, "I love enjoying fried chicken and beer with friends." On a question about whether Nvidia's artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports were discussed during the U.S.-China summit, he said, "I think the two leaders had a good conversation," adding, "It doesn't have to necessarily include what I do."
As Huang, who came to Korea that day to attend the APEC summit, and the two chairmen, who came to the chicken restaurant to discuss AI cooperation with him, drew a large crowd, the single-lane road in front of the restaurant became packed with no room to move as the meeting time approached. As concerns about accidents grew due to the sudden influx, Seoul Gangnam Police Station and a nearby fire station appeared on site to maintain order.
At about 7:30 p.m., CEO Huang and the two chairmen took their seats, placed the preordered chicken in the center of the table, and clinked beer glasses with broad smiles when Huang proposed a toast. Huang gave the two chairmen gifts he had prepared in advance. Huang and the two chairmen also gladly downed somaek (soju + beer) offered by customers at the next table. During the gathering, Huang suddenly stepped out of the chicken restaurant and handed out snacks such as banana milk and kimbap to the crowd. After the chimaek meeting, Huang also plans to attend Nvidia's "GeForce Gamer Festival" held at COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul.
As he left, Chairman Lee Jae-yong said, "Now that the U.S. tariff has been settled, it seems that as you live, happiness is about eating something this delicious."
In the industry, the view is that Samsung Electronics and Nvidia would make the supply contract talks for memory semiconductors, including high bandwidth memory (HBM), a key agenda item at this meeting. With Hyundai Motor Group, they are expected to discuss cooperation plans in Autonomous Driving vehicles and the Humanoid Robot field.