Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang Jen-hsun is set to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju this October, marking his first presence in South Korea this year, according to South Korean media.
He is expected to lead the “Artifact Intelligence for Economic Development” sessions at the APEC summit.
A senior ruling-party official said that the government and companies have been making concerted efforts across various channels to ensure Huang’s participation, adding that his involvement has significantly heightened expectations for collaboration in the semiconductor sector between the United States and South Korea.
He noted that the trip signals Nvidia’s desire to deepen its alliances with South Korean companies such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Seoul is also in talks to bring other AI industry leaders to the summit, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Apple’s Tim Cook, the report said.
With South Korean President Lee Jae Myung having committed to securing 50,000 high-performance GPUs by 2030 amid election campaigns, it's widely speculated that he may press Huang for Nvidia supply.
Earlier this year, Huang had visited China, Japan, and Taiwan without making a stop in South Korea. However, he met President Lee Jae Myung for the first time at a US-South Korea business roundtable in Washington.
Notably, Huang’s presence at APEC may coincide with a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, raising the prospect of talks concerning AI governance and supply chain security amid export controls.
HELEN ZHONG
