A who’s who of global business leaders, from Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang to CATL’s Zeng Yuqun, will visit the South Korean city of Gyeongju later this month for the APEC CEO Summit, a testament of Asia’s central role in the next phase of the technology and energy transition.
The summit, organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), will run from Oct. 28 to 31, ahead of the APEC leaders’ meeting on Oct. 31–Nov. 1.
It will bring together about 1,700 corporate executives and economic figures from across the Asia-Pacific to discuss themes ranging from artificial intelligence and digital transformation to trade and sustainability, organizers said.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of the KCCI and head of SK Group, will preside over the summit as chair, overseeing the event from the welcoming dinner on the 28th to the closing session on the 31st.
NVIDIA’S HUANG: MOST ANTICIPATED ATTENDEE
Among the most anticipated attendees is Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, the emblematic figure of the AI boom.
During the CEO summit, Huang is expected to meet with Chey and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee to discuss cooperation in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply and broader collaboration in AI and semiconductor technologies, sources said.
Industry officials also speculate that the Nvidia chief may visit chip production lines at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc. during his stay – his first visit to Korea this year.
Last August in the US, Huang had a chat with SK Chairman Chey, Samsung Chairman Lee and other CEOs at the business roundtable of the South Korea-US summit in Washington, D.C.
PROMINENT AI FIGURES
Other prominent AI figures include Matt Garman, chief executive of Amazon Web Services; Simon Kahn, Google’s Asia-Pacific vice president; Simon Milner, vice president at Meta; and Microsoft executives Antony Cook and Ulrich Homann. They are scheduled to speak on the future of AI and digital transformation in dedicated sessions.
Heavyweights from finance, manufacturing and energy will also converge on Gyeongju.
Citigroup Chairwoman Jane Fraser, J.P. Morgan Vice Chairman Daniel Pinto, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, Marubeni CEO Masayuki Omoto, Hitachi CEO Toshiaki Higashihara, and Sinochem Chairman Li Fanrong are all set to attend.
International institutions will be represented as well, with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann among the high-profile participants.
This year’s summit theme, “Bridge, Business, Beyond,” will span 20 sessions featuring 85 speakers, highlighting how business leaders aim to bridge innovation, sustainability and cooperation across borders.
The event marks one of the largest international business gatherings ever hosted in Korea, reflecting both the country’s growing influence in the global technology supply chain and its role as a bridge between the US and China amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry.
US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
By Bo-Hyung Kim
Kph21c@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
