[Gyeongju APEC] AWS CEO Matt Garman Makes High-Profile Moves in Korea, Meets President and Major Conglomerate Leaders

Discussing AI Collaboration with Shin Dongbin and Huh Taesu
Exploring Partnerships with LG Electronics and LG Uplus

Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), who visited Gyeongju for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, has been making a series of high-profile moves. In addition to meeting with President Lee Jaemyung, he has also held discussions with the heads of major conglomerates to explore potential collaborations. As AWS is the world's largest cloud computing company with servers in multiple countries, there is growing anticipation regarding further partnerships with domestic companies.

According to the IT industry on October 30, CEO Garman met with key group leaders the previous day, including Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dongbin and GS Group Chairman Huh Taesu, as well as LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo Wan and LG Uplus CEO Hong Beomsik.

Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, is delivering a keynote speech at the "2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit (APEC CEO SUMMIT)" held at Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongbuk on the 29th. 2025.10.29 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

It is reported that CEO Garman discussed various global cooperation initiatives with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dongbin, including the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into business operations. Lotte Innovate, a Lotte affiliate, has already acquired AWS Marketplace Channel Partner status and certification for the CloudFront Service Delivery Program (SDP). Garman also met with GS Group Chairman Huh Taesu to strengthen the ongoing partnership utilizing AWS's cloud technology. Chairman Huh also serves as the Chair of the AI Innovation Committee at the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), and it is reported that they exchanged views on advancing AI innovation among Korean companies.

Garman also met with key affiliates of LG Group to explore business cooperation opportunities. He reportedly held talks with LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo Wan, discussing data center infrastructure, including the supply of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions, which LG Electronics is focusing on as a future growth driver. He also met with LG Uplus CEO Hong Beomsik to further strengthen their partnership in cloud and AI. Previously, the two companies signed a strategic partnership at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, this past February, agreeing to pursue joint cloud business collaboration.

Coinciding with Garman's visit to Korea, AWS announced new investment plans in the country. CEO Garman met with President Lee Jaemyung the previous day and pledged to invest more than 5 billion dollars (approximately 7 trillion won) to build new AI data centers in the Incheon and Gyeonggi regions by 2031. Earlier, AWS had entered into a strategic partnership with SK Group in June to jointly build and operate an AI data center in Ulsan.

AWS also unveiled additional investment plans for the Asia-Pacific region. During the main session of the CEO Summit, titled "AI-Driven Economy," CEO Garman stated, "We have decided to invest more than 40 billion dollars (approximately 57 trillion won) in 14 APEC economies," adding, "This will contribute more than 45 billion dollars (approximately 64.5 trillion won) to their combined GDP."