Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is meeting with top South Korean conglomerate leaders at a restaurant in Seoul on Friday [1].

The gathering signals a deepening strategic alliance between the world's leading AI chip designer and South Korea's most powerful industrial groups. As the global race for artificial intelligence dominance intensifies, these partnerships are critical for securing the hardware and infrastructure necessary to scale next-generation AI models.

Huang is dining with Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group, and Lee Hae-jin, chairman of Naver [1]. The group is meeting for an informal pork-belly dinner, known as a "samgyeopsal hoedong," at a venue located near Hongdae-ipgu station [1].

The dinner was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. KST [1]. According to reports, the event is intended to lay the groundwork for expanded cooperation with Korean AI companies [1]. This meeting builds upon a previous "Kkanbu" — a term for a close, trusted friend — meeting held in October [1].

Representatives from the participating companies aim to foster joint development in the AI era [1]. The informal nature of the dinner suggests a desire to build personal rapport among the executives while discussing high-stakes technical and commercial collaborations [1].

"Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia who visited Korea, will meet with the heads of major groups, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, at a pork belly restaurant shortly," a YTN anchor said [1]. Reporter Park Ki-wan, reporting from the scene, said the location is near Hongdae-ipgu station and noted the 7 p.m. start time [1].

“The gathering signals a deepening strategic alliance between the world's leading AI chip designer and South Korea's most powerful industrial groups.”

This meeting underscores the symbiotic relationship between Nvidia's hardware and South Korea's semiconductor and software ecosystems. By engaging with SK (memory chips), LG (electronics and AI), and Naver (platform and LLMs), Huang is securing a critical supply chain and deployment network in Asia. The use of a casual dinner setting to discuss 'Kkanbu' relationships reflects a cultural approach to business in Korea, where personal trust between chairmen often precedes formal corporate contracts.