Lee Jae Myung hosts tech CEOs for AI cooperation dinner
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- President Lee Jae Myung hosted a casual dinner on July 24 at The Ramp restaurant in San Francisco with leaders from Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft, Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai, and Naver, aimed at strengthening AI cooperation.
- The dinner featured fish and chips, fried calamari, crab cakes, and clam chowder with beer, echoing Jensen Huang's earlier chimaek (fried chicken and beer) gathering with Korean business leaders in Seoul.
- Lee invoked the Korean concept of "sikgu" (people who share meals) and led a toast where he called out "We are" and guests responded "family," with Huang joining in amid jokes about the public official picking up the cheque.
- Lee told attendees that South Korea's per capita GDP was approaching US$40,000 and the economy was expected to grow more than 3% in 2026, after expanding around 1% in 2025, gesturing to credit the Korean business leaders beside him.
- Lee remarked that the Kospi had been going through a correction after a sustained rally, and Huang responded that it would rise again, according to presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom.
- The represented companies have a combined market capitalization of about 17 quadrillion won (S$15 trillion), according to Cheong Wa Dae.
- Lee struck a more serious note at the end: "So much has changed in just one year. The speed is truly astonishing," reflecting on the pace of AI-driven technological change.
Why it matters: The dinner crystallizes a US-South Korea AI alliance at the corporate level: the seven represented companies hold roughly S$15 trillion in combined market cap, and Lee's GDP-growth and Kospi comments signal a coordinated pitch to anchor South Korea's recovery to the global AI hardware supply chain. For Nvidia, Broadcom, and Microsoft, the gathering locks in relationships with Samsung, SK, and Hyundai — critical partners in AI hardware and deployment.
