Korea is ‘optimal partner’ for rebuilding U.S. shipbuilding industry, says President Lee to business leaders
Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 08:30
Updated: 26 Aug. 2025, 09:28
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable reception, with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, center, looking on at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/08/26/f51b1230-30bb-4d55-91ef-d1a8aed651f0.jpg)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable reception, with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, center, looking on at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
During the forum, Lee stressed that Korean companies "will play a crucial role in rebuilding the U.S. shipbuilding industry with their broad portfolio of advanced vessels, ranging from merchant ships to LNG carriers and icebreakers."
The business roundtable, attended by the leaders of Korea's top conglomerates, comes after Lee held his first bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, where shipbuilding cooperation was discussed in depth.
"I believe that Korea, with its unparalleled technological prowess in manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, automobiles, batteries, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and nuclear power, is the optimal partner for achieving a manufacturing renaissance in the United States," Lee said.
Through a trade deal on July 30 that set tariffs on Korean exports to the United States at 15 percent, Korea pledged to invest $350 billion in the United States, which includes a $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation initiative dubbed the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again," or MASGA, project.
"During a time of crisis, when war had devastated its industrial foundation, Korea, with the help of the United States, was able to rise again as a manufacturing powerhouse," Lee told businesspeople from the two countries. "Now it's South Korea's turn to contribute to rebuilding America's manufacturing industry."
Lee added that Korea will also focus on increasing cooperation in next-generation nuclear power plants and developing and commercializing small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet the energy demand in the AI era.
Lee promised to strengthen cooperation in strategic industries for future security, enhance global competitiveness through advanced industry cooperation and to stabilize strategic investment and key supply chains to build a sustainable trade partnership.
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, receives a Baltimore Orioles jersey with his initials on the back from David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable reception in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/08/26/749ffa5b-ca48-428d-93c9-c63a2099625b.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, receives a Baltimore Orioles jersey with his initials on the back from David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable reception in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
In his first trip to the United States since he took office, Lee was accompanied by a business delegation consisting of 16 Korean executives representing diverse industries with strong ties to the United States, according to the presidential office.
They included the leaders of Korea's top conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.
Other attendees included Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Chairman Ryu Jin and executives from companies including Hanwha, HD Hyundai, Doosan Enerbility, Celltrion, GS, CJ and Naver.
![From left, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and and Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson chat at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable at a hotel in Washington, on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/08/26/9e101cee-c89b-443a-929e-8ee1d9851283.jpg)
From left, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and and Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson chat at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable at a hotel in Washington, on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and 21 U.S. business executives including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and David Rubenstein, a co-founder of the Carlyle Group, also attended. Other companies represented include Boeing, Danaher, Applied Materials, General Atomics, Google, Lockheed Martin, IBM and OpenAI, according to the presidential office.
The roundtable, with the theme of "Partnership for a Manufacturing Renaissance," was organized by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and FKI.
Lee, in his remarks at the forum, highlighted plans to expand cooperation in next-generation nuclear energy, focusing on the development and commercialization of small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet the energy demands of the AI era and to strengthen energy security.
He said that he hoped such initiatives "will mark a turning point in the revival of U.S. manufacturing, built on our strong alliance," and at the same time, "elevate Korea's manufacturing role and capabilities to the next level."
President Lee Jae Myung, left, speaks at a Korea-U.S. business roundtable at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. (JOINT PRESS CORPS)
Lee said that it is "thanks to the business leaders of the two countries, who play a pivotal role in the Korea-U.S. relationship, industrial management in both countries will advance significantly.
"The foundation of an alliance is trust, and the best way to build that trust is through economic exchange," Lee said. He said that the businesspeople of the two countries represent "the very essence of the 72-year history of the Korea-U.S. alliance."
FKI chief Ryu said that Korean companies plan to invest approximately $150 billion in the United States.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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