Nvidia CEO to arrive Thursday after Taiwan schedule; top conglomerate chiefs set to join gathering; Naver headquarters visit likely June 8; business forum and baseball first pitch also on the cards

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (right), Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (left) and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung at their informal dinner meeting last year [Yonhap]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (right), Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (left) and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung at their informal dinner meeting last year [Yonhap]

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang is expected to visit South Korea this week, sources in the semiconductor and IT industry said Sunday.

The visit would be his first to the country in roughly seven months, since he attended the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju last October.

Huang is expected to arrive after completing his main commitments at GTC Taipei 2026, Nvidia's annual AI conference opening next week in Taipei, Taiwan.

His itinerary is drawing strong attention across the semiconductor and IT sectors, with a range of engagements under discussion — from private dinners with the heads of South Korea's top conglomerates to a business forum and a ceremonial first pitch at a professional baseball game.

Huang is expected to enter South Korea on the evening of Thursday, June 4, with his schedule kicking off in earnest the following day, Friday, when he is set to meet the chiefs of major Korean conglomerates.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver founder and Chairman Lee Hae-jin are expected to attend. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung is also said to be reviewing his participation favorably and working out the details.

Industry watchers are paying close attention to whether the talks will go beyond AI semiconductor cooperation to cover potential expansion into robotics and physical AI.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is not expected to attend this time due to overseas commitments.

A samgyeopsal restaurant in Hongdae or a venue in Seongsu-dong, both in Seoul, are the leading candidates for the gathering's location.

Huang prefers casual get-togethers, and the fact that a trendy neighborhood restaurant is again being considered has fueled speculation that the meeting will echo last October's much-discussed "Ganbu meeting" — an informal dinner at a fried chicken restaurant in Samseong-dong where Huang, Lee and Chung held candid conversations that drew wide attention inside and outside the industry.

As she did last year, Huang's eldest daughter Madison Huang, senior director of product marketing for Nvidia Omniverse and Robotics, is said to be directly involved in organizing the visit. She is credited with planning last year's Ganbu meeting and is reported to have coordinated key event logistics and scheduling for this trip as well.

Huang is also in talks with Naver about visiting the company's 1784 headquarters in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with June 8 the likely date.

The 1784 building, Naver's second headquarters, is regarded as a showcase for the company's future technologies, integrating robotics, cloud computing, digital twin systems and a private 5G network under one roof.

Should the visit go ahead, it is expected to give concrete shape to cooperation discussions between the global AI chipmaker and the domestic platform company.

However, both Naver and Nvidia said they had "nothing to confirm at this stage" regarding the specifics of Huang's itinerary or the agenda for any meetings.

Huang is also reported to be planning to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Doosan Bears home game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, and to hold a business forum with Korean executives at the Shilla Hotel.

Before arriving in Korea, Huang will deliver the keynote address at GTC Taipei on Sunday afternoon, followed by a "Korea Partner Night" dinner with representatives of major Korean companies at a local restaurant that evening.

Attendees are expected to include Samsung Electronics memory division Vice President Kim Jae-jun, SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung, LG Science Park President and Vice President Jeong Su-heon, and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won.

Chey is also expected to attend Huang's keynote in person to get a firsthand look at Nvidia's next-generation AI technology, and to hold a separate one-on-one meeting with Huang on the sidelines.


gil@heraldcorp.com