UAE president has tea with top Korean business leaders during state visit

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UAE president has tea with top Korean business leaders during state visit

Published: 28 May. 2024, 10:45 Updated: 28 May. 2024, 19:36

JIN EUN-SOO
jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong leaves the Lotte Hotel Seoul in central Seoul on Tuesday after meeting United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. [JIN EUN-SOO]

Some of Korea's biggest business scions gathered at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on Tuesday for tea with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where they discussed opportunities for collaboration in fields like defense and energy.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun and HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun were among participants who showed up to the hotel in central Seoul. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, who reportedly arrived earlier to the site, did not make an official appearance before the press.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won enters Lotte Hotel Seoul on Tuesday for a tea meeting with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. [YONHAP]

The meeting, which lasted approximately an hour, was held in two sessions. The first centered on existing partnerships with conglomerates in fields of energy and defense.

HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk and NCsoft founder and CEO Kim Taek-jin joined the second session, which centered on new collaborations in entertainment and media. Cho Man-ho of fashion startup Musinsa also showed up.

The UAE President "was very fond of Korea," HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung said upon departing the hotel after the meeting. "He said a lot about collaborating in the future."

Chung, one of few leaders who spoke to press on site, said he planned to highlight HD Hyundai's strengths in areas from "shipbuilding to construction equipment and green energy."

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said he would discuss "partnership with UAE" upon arrival and later confirmed that he'd had "nice conversations" with the president.

Lee of CJ Group, Korea's entertainment and media giant — who showed up limping due to a chronic illness — said he would talk "economy and culture."

The Tuesday meeting was set up at President Mohamed's request, according to industry sources.

Mohamed had promised Korea a $30 billion investment last year during Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the country. It was a first state visit from a foreign leader since Mohamed's 2022 inauguration.

The Tuesday tea meeting could include follow-up discussion of the pledged investment, industry sources said.

UAE is already deeply engaged with Korean companies.

Samsung C&T, Samsung's construction and fashion arm, is part of the Korean consortium building the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi. Samsung's Lee paid a visit there in 2022, choosing the Middle East country as his first foreign destination after inaugurated as the group chairman.

SK Group also signed a memorandum of understanding with UAE's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, last year to create a carbon credit market in Asia.

UAE President Mohamed is currently on a two-day state visit to Korea, becoming the first UAE president to make an official trip to the country.

A summit with Korean President Yoon will take place on Wednesday.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a business forum in partnership with the embassy of the UAE in Seoul earlier on Tuesday, drawing some 200 businesspeople from the two countries aiming to bolster trade.

Korean firms Posco, Doosan Enerbility, Yanolja, Kakao Mobility and Medytox were among the participants while Mubadala Investment Company, Essa Al Ghurair Investment, Lulu Group International, Al Sayegh Group and Dubai International Financial Center attended from the UAE.

Korea and the UAE first formed ties in 1980. The trade volume, which stood at less than $200 million at the time, expanded 100-fold to reach $20.8 billion in 2023.