Nvidia CEO wraps up final official day of South Korea visit
Speaks to reporters after 'Korea AI Ecosystem Reception' at Shilla Hotel
"Hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue will flow into Korea over the next five years"
"Korea is a fantastic place to invest in AI — now is the time to buy shares at a discount"
![Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang answers reporters' questions after the Korea AI Ecosystem Reception at Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday. [Pool photo]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/08/news-p.v1.20260608.863ee2b6af4e4f8c830d1de0c1a5dc5e_P1.jpg)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Monday that AI "will be everywhere as automated intelligence" and will become as essential as electricity or the internet.
Huang made the remarks to reporters after the Korea AI Ecosystem Reception at Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. He added that "this is the beginning of a real buildout, and everything that happened last week is merely noise."
"Korea is a fantastic place to invest in the future of AI," he said. "If the stock market is down, it's a great time to buy — you can purchase shares at a discount." He added that his conviction about Korea's AI future was strong, and that it was precisely why he had made the trip.
Huang said Nvidia had secured the largest deal in South Korea's history. "All I can say is that we have brought an enormous amount of business to Korea," he said. "I can't go into detail because contracts are in place, but this is not a typical deal. It is a deal the world has never seen before."
He said the scale of the opportunity Nvidia was bringing to SK Hynix would become clear over time. "Through major partnerships with SK Hynix and SK Telecom, we have brought Korea hundreds of billions of dollars in potential business," he said.
Huang said Nvidia was also working with Naver to build large-scale AI infrastructure and would collaborate with LG Corp and Hyundai Motor Co to develop next-generation robotics and mobility technology. "Hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue will flow into Korea over the next five years," he said. "That is our gift, and that is our partnership."
Before the reception, Huang made the case that South Korea was the ideal partner for the AI era, tracing a relationship stretching back 25 years.
"For most of Nvidia's 33-year history, we have been with Korea," he said. "Korea rose to the top of the world in heavy industry, then electronics, then software — and now it is world-class in AI as well."
"There is no other country like this anywhere in the world," he added.
Huang cited semiconductors, manufacturing and energy infrastructure as Korea's core strengths.
He said Korea was also world-class in energy — the backbone of AI infrastructure — and pointed to the country's competitiveness in power generation, including nuclear energy. He also listed Korea's geopolitical position, its technology-friendly culture, and its global soft power — exemplified by K-pop and the popular cosmetics industry — as favorable conditions for expanding the AI ecosystem.
"This is Korea's moment," Huang said, urging the country to seize the opportunity. "Korea has the right cultural foundation, the right industrial base and the right geopolitical position. Now is the perfect time to put all of that to work."
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jeon Young-hyun said Monday that he had discussed next-year supply of HBM4E with Jensen Huang and that the two sides would also explore foundry cooperation for the next generation of chips.
gil@heraldcorp.com
