Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, picked up the entire tab for the second "chicken meetup" during a gathering of Korea's business leaders with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the evening of the 5th. Chey paid the full amount that all the customers inside the chicken restaurant would have owed.
Huang arrived at about 7:10 p.m. at the meat restaurant Hyungnimjeyo near Hongdae Station in Mapo District, Seoul. Chey, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin had arrived earlier and were waiting for Huang. They shared samgyeopsal with soju and beer.
For the first round, it was Lee who rang the "golden bell." Lee paid via Naver Pay the full amount that all the customers inside the restaurant would have owed. The bill was reported to be about 6 million won.
Huang and others moved to the BBQ Chiken Hongdae branch, about 200 meters away in a straight line from the meat restaurant. Huang has shown his "love of K-chicken" several times. Upon arriving at Gimpo Airport that day, he told reporters, "I missed Korean fried chicken."
One large karaoke venue in front of Hongdae was reportedly closed to regular customers that day in preparation for a visit by Huang and others. But Huang chose a chicken restaurant instead. Because the visit was sudden and there were no seats, not everyone in the party could get in.
Chey rang the golden bell by paying the entire 2.44 million won that all the customers inside the store would have owed. The meeting between Huang and the business leaders ended at about 10:30 p.m.