President Lee Jae-myung met with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and other leaders from U.S. and Korean tech companies to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration during a dinner in San Francisco.
On July 24, local time, President Lee hosted a dinner at The Ramp restaurant with business leaders from both countries.
The group enjoyed mini burgers, fish and chips, fried squid, and clam chowder while sipping Budweiser beer at an outdoor terrace table overlooking the San Francisco Bay.
President Lee opened the conversation with a light-hearted remark, referencing a previous meeting with Huang in Korea where they had chicken and beer, saying, "We might need some chicken here."
Huang then asked the President, "When was the last time you had a burger?" to which President Lee replied he couldn't quite remember.
Attendees included Huang, Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, and Rani Borkar, President of Microsoft Azure Hardware. From Korea, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of Naver's board were present. Government officials included Deputy Prime Minister Baek Kyung-hun and Kim Yong-beom, Chief Policy Officer at the Blue House.
During the dinner, President Lee explained to Huang that in Korea, people refer to family as "sikgu," meaning those who share meals together. Huang responded in English, "So we are family," prompting President Lee to propose a toast, saying, "We are sikgu," and emphasizing the significance of sharing a meal.
When Deputy Prime Minister Baek offered to cover the meal's cost, Huang jokingly requested another beer. President Lee quipped, "I can’t do that because I’m a public servant," to which Huang humorously replied, "Korea is a rich country."
President Lee laughed and agreed, saying, "That’s true, but still, I can’t."
The dinner also touched on the recent volatility in the Korean stock market. According to Kim Yong-beom, when President Lee noted that Korean stocks have been experiencing some adjustments, Huang responded, "They will rise again."
Huang inquired about Korea's GDP size, and after receiving an explanation, he asked, "So can I have another beer? I need one more."
When Huang asked about the forecast for Korea's GDP growth this year, President Lee stated, "Last year it was around 1%, but this year it seems we will exceed 3%. We expect it to rise above the potential growth rate, which hasn’t happened in decades."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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