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Corporate titans descend on APEC CEO Summit, Nvidia-Samsung-Hyundai meeting eyed

Published: 28 Oct. 2025, 19:17 Updated: 29 Oct. 2025, 09:40

PARK EUN-JEE
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Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, second from right, and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, third from right, toast during the welcome dinner, the first official event of the APEC CEO Summit, held at Hwarang Village in Gyeongju on Oct. 28. [YONHAP]

Around 1,700 business leaders from across the globe — including top executives from Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor — have gathered in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, for the APEC CEO Summit, setting the stage for major tech-focused discussions and potential business deals.

The APEC CEO Summit kicked off with a welcome banquet on Tuesday ahead of 20 scheduled sessions on AI, digital innovation and other key topics running from Wednesday through Friday. But generating more buzz are the informal gatherings of business heavyweights, since they could pave the way for major business or tariff-related deals.

Five scions — Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung and HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun — are scheduled to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday, according to multiple industry sources.

The next day, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung’s Lee and Hyundai’s Chung will have a meeting in Seoul to potentially discuss cooperation on AI.

“There is a high chance that the three will meet, although the discussions will be held under strict confidentiality,” said a source with knowledge of the matter.

Samsung Electronics supplies high bandwidth memory to Nvidia to support the U.S. chip maker’s high-end AI accelerators and the two giants are also involved in OpenAI’s Stargate project. Hyundai Motor signed a strategic partnership with Nvidia in January to work together on the development of advanced AI technologies.

Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, delivers opening remarks during the welcome dinner during the 2025 APEC CEO Summit, held at Hwarang Village in Gyeongju on Oct. 28. [YONHAP]

It remains unclear whether the highly anticipated gathering concerns existing partnerships or future ones.

In Gyeongju, Wednesday's sessions will cover a broad range of economic and regional topics, including global economic issues and emerging challenges, the digital transformation and e-commerce streamlining, as well as financing and the need for regulatory reforms for data centers.

On Thursday, the summit will feature keynote speeches by presidents from different countries, followed by sessions on sustainable development strategies for next-generation AI, green supply chain development, future mobility and autonomous driving ecosystems and the outlook for digital currencies and global financial markets.

A special police unit and sniffer dog conduct a security sweep at the APEC CEO Summit venue at the Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 18. [YONHAP]

The final day, Friday, will focus on long-term agendas, including energy demand management in the AI era, sustainable growth and disaster resilience technologies and strategies for carbon neutrality and planetary survival.

High-profile participants for those sessions include AWS CEO Matt Garman, Google APAC Vice President Simon Kahn, Naver CEO
Choi Soo-yeon, Meta Vice President Simon Milner and Microsoft Vice Presidents Antony Cook and Ulrich Homann.

Other participants include Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, JPMorgan Vice Chair Daniel Pinto, Marubeni CEO Masayuki Omoto, Hitachi CEO Toshiaki Tokunaga, Sinochem Chairman Li Fanrong, CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun and Deloitte Asia-Pacific CEO David Hill.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [[email protected]]