"Jensen Day!" Jensen Huang Heads to Gyeongju... Announces 'AI Mega Cooperation' with Korea [Gyeongju APEC]

Jensen Huang Appears with a Bright Smile at the Hotel
Meets President Lee Jaemyung in Gyeongju This Afternoon
Announces Large-Scale Cooperation with Korean Business Leaders
Korea Poised to Become a Hub for AI Semiconductor Production and De

At 9:30 a.m. on October 31, the lobby of the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam, Seoul, was bustling. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, appeared with a bright expression, dressed in a sky-blue shirt and black suit. Despite having met with Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, for a “chimaek” (chicken and beer) gathering the previous night, and then attending NVIDIA’s GeForce GPU event at COEX, he showed no signs of fatigue. He responded to every autograph request from fans, replying “Fine” to greetings of “How are you,” but when approached by reporters, he simply said “No question,” choosing his words carefully.

The previous day, he had hinted that “the President will make an important announcement,” and his actions suggested he was passing that message to the Korean government, particularly President Lee Jaemyung. He told reporters, “I look forward to meeting the President of Korea,” adding, “NVIDIA is preparing several collaborative projects in Korea, and we will soon reveal the results achieved with our outstanding partners.” He further stated, “We decided to give the President the first opportunity to make the announcement,” and expressed hope that “we will be able to share good news together.”

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is hugging Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, at the Nvidia GeForce Gamer Festival held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on October 30, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Leaving the hotel lobby crowded with fans at 9:40 a.m., CEO Huang got into a vehicle and headed to Pohang Gyeongju Airport in North Gyeongsang Province. Due to his packed schedule the previous day, he reportedly did not schedule any separate breakfast or lunch meetings that morning. Visiting Korea for the first time in 15 years, he is scheduled to travel to Gyeongju, where the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit is being held, to announce a large-scale cooperation plan in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This announcement is seen less as an independent move by NVIDIA and more as part of a joint strategy by the Korean government and industry to strengthen AI technology sovereignty and industrial competitiveness. It is expected to serve as a turning point for Korea to rise from being merely a consumer nation to becoming a key production and development hub within the global AI technology supply chain.

Industry insiders predict that this cooperation will lead to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductor supply and foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) linkages with Samsung Electronics, autonomous driving and robotics development with Hyundai Motor Group, AI data center construction with SK Group, and the advancement of generative AI platforms with Naver. In particular, if GPU supply cooperation with domestic companies is strengthened, Korea’s role as a core pillar of the AI semiconductor ecosystem is expected to grow. NVIDIA’s AI acceleration technology is also being applied to Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous vehicles and robots, making the vision of vehicles as “mobile AI supercomputers” more tangible. This trend is expected to further reinforce the practical foundation for collaboration with global technology companies, in line with the Korean government’s policies to foster AI semiconductors, data centers, and industrial infrastructure.

Around noon, CEO Huang is expected to arrive at Pohang Gyeongju Airport and then move to the HICO (Hwabaek International Convention Center) in Gyeongju in the afternoon. This meeting is a core event of APEC, which brings together world leaders and global CEOs. CEO Huang is expected to meet successively with President Lee, Chairman Lee, Chairman Chung, SK Group Chairman Chey Taewon, and Naver Board Chairman Lee Haejin. At 4 p.m., he will deliver a speech at a special session of the APEC CEO Summit at Gyeongju Arts Center, after which he is expected to reveal specific cooperation plans at a press conference.

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, are performing on stage at NVIDIA's GeForce GPU 25th anniversary event held on the 30th at COEX in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

According to foreign media and industry sources, the “Korean-style AI cooperation plan” to be announced by CEO Huang reportedly includes AI accelerator supply contracts with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, SK Group, and Naver. The previous day, he mentioned that he was “preparing an amazing announcement for Korea,” foreshadowing strategic cooperation in semiconductors, AI, and robotics.

This cooperation plan is expected to mark a turning point for NVIDIA, making Korea a key partner beyond the constraints of the Chinese market. For Korean companies, it is an opportunity to secure a stable supply of GPUs, which are essential for AI model training and data center expansion. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix supply memory semiconductors to NVIDIA and are also participating in building AI data centers using NVIDIA technology. The two companies, along with OpenAI, are promoting the “Stargate” project, and SK is building a massive AI data center in Ulsan in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In January, Hyundai Motor Group signed a partnership with NVIDIA for software-defined vehicles (SDV) and robotics, a strategic alliance to advance AI-based mobility and robotics technology development.

There is also speculation that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may sign next-generation HBM4 supply contracts. Currently, SK Hynix is supplying HBM4 samples to NVIDIA for quality testing. Naver’s Board Chairman Lee Haejin reportedly met CEO Huang in Taiwan last May to discuss building a “sovereign AI” and expanding data centers. Although the specific scale of the contracts has not yet been disclosed, the scope of cooperation is expected to expand across the entire AI ecosystem.