[Report] Hanwha Brothers Say "Just Here for Coffee" as Trump Jr. Holds Secret Meetings with Business Leaders under Tight Security

Morning of the 30th at Chosun Palace Hotel in Seoul
Relay Meetings with Trump Jr. Continue
Did Not Appear in Hotel Lobby... Held in Secret

On the morning of the 30th, in front of the Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, heightened security measures were in place as Donald Trump Jr., who visited Korea at the invitation of Chung Yongjin, chairman of Shinsegae, was staying at the hotel. Police officers in fluorescent vests were stationed around the exterior of the hotel building,and security personnel set up fences in front of the lobby to control pedestrian traffic.

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former U.S. President Donald Trump, held a series of "relay meetings" with the heads of major Korean conglomerates throughout the day. It is reported that the three Hanwha Group brothers?Kim Dongkwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group; Kim Dongwon, president of Hanwha Life; and Kim Dongseon, executive vice president in charge of future vision at Hanwha Galleria and Hotel & Resort?as well as Lee Haejin, chairman of Naver; Yang Jonghee, chairman of KB Financial Group; and Heo Yongsu, president of GS Energy, participated in these meetings. The meetings with the business leaders were held in such strict secrecy that the exact times and routes could not be confirmed. A Shinsegae representative explained, "The schedule and times were not disclosed for security and safety reasons."

In the morning of the 30th, in front of the lobby of Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Dozens of reporters were waiting from early morning, and the place was bustling with people.
Photo by Park Jaehyun

However, the three Hanwha brothers were spotted in the morning at the Starbucks located on the first basement level of the hotel's east wing, picking up coffee to go. It is known that Kim Dongkwan, the eldest brother and vice chairman, left after his meeting with Trump Jr. to meet John P. Phelan, Secretary of the U.S. Navy. Kim Dongwon, the second brother and president, responded to reporters asking about the meeting as he got into his car with coffee in hand, saying, "I just came for coffee, nothing special."

Nearby the hotel, a conservative group held a rally welcoming the visit of Trump Jr. Yellow banners with messages such as "Welcome to Korea Mr. Donald Trump Jr.," "Strengthen the ROK-US Alliance," and "CCP Out" were seen fluttering. At the entrance to the parking lot, a person wearing a red hat with "Make America Great Again" displayed a drawing depicting Trump chewing gum.

Yellow banners flutter near the hotel welcoming the visit of Donald Trump Jr., with messages reading "Welcome to Korea Mr. Donald Trump Jr." and "We go Together." (Photo by Jae Hyun Park)

In the retail industry, it is reported that Lee Jaehyun, chairman of CJ Group, and Shin Yooyeol, executive vice president and head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings (who also serves as head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics), met with Trump Jr.

Chairman Lee discussed investment and various collaboration opportunities in K-food, K-beauty, and K-content. Recently, Lee has been making large-scale investments in U.S. production facilities, focusing on CJ CheilJedang. In November last year, CJ CheilJedang, through the American food company Schwan's, began construction of a new Asian food plant in South Dakota in the Midwest. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2027, and CJ CheilJedang currently operates 20 food production bases in the United States.

Executive Vice President Shin Yooyeol reportedly focused discussions on the "bio" sector, which Lotte sees as a future growth engine. Previously, Shin visited Indonesia with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dongbin and the Korea Enterprises Federation's economic delegation on April 28-29, but returned early to Korea to meet with Trump Jr.

Currently, Shin serves as both head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings and head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics. Lotte Biologics, through its Syracuse, New York plant acquired in 2022, became the first Korean contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) to begin local production in the United States.

Yonhap News Agency

Trump Jr. arrived in Korea the previous day at around 6:30 p.m. via private jet at the Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. He then traveled to the home of Chairman Chung Yongjin for dinner with Chung and his wife, and spent the night at the Chosun Palace Seoul Gangnam, a Shinsegae Group affiliate. Chung and Trump Jr. are known to have a close personal relationship, and this visit was arranged at Chung's invitation.

For major conglomerates, the meetings were held individually, while for mid-sized companies, group interviews took place. The individual meetings reportedly lasted between 30 minutes and one hour. On this day, Chairman Chung was said to be supporting the meetings between Trump Jr. and the business leaders from his office at Centerfield Tower in Yeoksam-dong.