[Exclusive] Chey Taewon's Invitation: Will Jensen Huang Visit Korea in October?...Major Global Leaders Expected to Arrive

KCCI Sends Invitations for APEC CEO Summit
Top Global CEOs Including Jensen Huang Invited
"Exploring Various Avenues for Attendance"

At the invitation of Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and Chairman of SK Group), a large number of leaders from major global companies, including Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, are expected to visit South Korea in October.

On the 21st, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who visited Japan, is answering questions from the Japanese press after meeting with Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to industry sources on the 22nd, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, recently received an official invitation from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to attend the "CEO Summit," a side event of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. He is currently considering whether to participate. It is also reported that invitations have been sent to Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.

A representative from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated, "We are exploring various avenues to secure CEO Huang's attendance," adding, "We are utilizing a variety of channels in both Korea and the United States." Nvidia commented, "A decision has not yet been made regarding the visit to Korea."

The CEO Summit is an economic event where CEOs of global companies from APEC member countries gather to network and discuss avenues for cooperation. This year, the CEO Summit will be held at the end of October in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, alongside the APEC summit. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is overseeing all official business events held during the APEC period, and in January, it launched the CEO Summit Organizing Committee to begin preparations.

It is reported that Chairman Chey's strong commitment played a significant role in inviting these global CEOs. Last month, during an internal meeting, Chairman Chey is said to have instructed his team to actively pursue CEO Huang's attendance, and he reportedly reached out personally using his own network. Analysts also point to the strengthened cooperation between SK Hynix and Nvidia, particularly in the area of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), as a key factor behind the invitation extended to CEO Huang.

At the sixth meeting of the "APEC Preparatory Committee" held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 17th, Chairman Chey stated, "This year's APEC summit is being prepared as the largest event ever, bringing together heads of member states and global CEOs," adding, "We are targeting a total of 780 global companies."

If CEO Huang visits Korea, it will be his first visit in three years since October 2022. In addition to attending the CEO Summit, there is speculation that he may visit SK Hynix's Icheon and Cheongju plants or Samsung Electronics' Cheonan plant. Attention is also focused on whether he will meet not only with Chairman Chey but also with other major business leaders in Korea, such as Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics.

While a meeting with Chairman Chey appears highly likely, there is also a possibility that CEO Huang will meet with other business leaders, including Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. CEO Huang last met Chairman Chey at CES 2025, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas in January, and his most recent meeting with Chairman Lee was at the Japanese restaurant "Sawa Sushi" in Silicon Valley in May 2023.