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Korean biz leaders head to U.S. for Lee-Trump summit

Published: 24 Aug. 2025, 17:53

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong departs for the United States from Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on Aug. 24. [NEWS1]

Top executives from Korea's major conglomerates left for the United States on Sunday to join the economic delegation for President Lee Jae Myung's upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Around noon, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan left for the United States as part of the presidential economic delegation.

Asked about his role, Chey said briefly, “I will do my best.”

Other business leaders in the delegation include Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, Korean Air Chairman Cho Won-tae and HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun.

The summit — set for Monday in Washington — follows a recent trade deal that lowered U.S. reciprocal tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent in exchange for Korea's pledge of $350 billion in investment and $100 billion in U.S. energy purchases.

Of the pledged investment, $150 billion will go toward Seoul's shipbuilding cooperation initiative, dubbed “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.” Trump has stressed the need to revive the U.S. shipbuilding industry and highlighted the role of allies such as Korea, a global leader in naval construction.

It remains to be seen whether Korean companies will unveil additional U.S. investment plans during Lee's first meeting with Trump since his inauguration on June 4.

Hyundai Motor Group announced in March that it will invest $21 billion in the United States through 2028, including $8.6 billion in the automotive sector and $6.1 billion in steel, components and logistics.

SK hynix is building a $3.87 billion memory packaging plant and advanced packaging research and development facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, to produce high bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence applications.

LG Energy Solution, an LG Group affiliate, operates battery cell plants in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan, with additional facilities under construction in Michigan, Georgia and Ohio through joint ventures with General Motors, Hyundai Motor Group and Honda Motor, respectively.

Yonhap