Jensen Huang returns to South Korea

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang returned to South Korea on Friday, eight months after his previous visit in October. During his trip, Huang is scheduled to meet business leaders, appear on a television entertainment program and throw the ceremonial first pitch at a professional baseball game.

Huang arrived aboard a private jet at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center at Gimpo International Airport. Speaking to reporters after landing, he said he came to thank Nvidia’s South Korean partners and customers.

“I’m here to thank our partner companies and customers in Korea,” Huang said. “We will discuss detailed plans with our Korean partners, including supply chain coordination.”

Huang said he has a series of meetings planned with major South Korean companies. “We’ve brought a lot of business to Korea, and we also have a few surprises,” he said. “I have many meetings scheduled with Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG and other partners during this visit.”

Industry officials noted that it is uncommon for the head of a major global semiconductor company to visit South Korea twice within a year. They said Nvidia has been expanding cooperation with South Korean companies in areas such as robotics, gaming and cloud infrastructure as the artificial intelligence industry continues to grow.

After meeting reporters, Huang visited T1 Base Camp in Seoul’s Mapo District, where he met professional gamer Lee Sang-hyeok, known globally as Faker. Later in the evening, he attended a dinner at a barbecue restaurant near Hongik University Station with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver Global Investment Officer Lee Hae-jin. The group shared samgyeopsal and soju during the gathering. Huang is also scheduled to record a television variety show on Saturday and throw the ceremonial first pitch at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Sunday.


이동훈기자 dhlee@donga.com