South Korea’s Lee Holds Private Dinner With SK’s Chey, Steps Up Outreach to Top Chaebol Chiefs

Talks Covered Semiconductor Fab Construction and Other Issues

Meetings With Samsung’s Lee and LG’s Koo Also Under Discussion

President Lee Jae-myung held a private dinner meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Aug. 20, two months after the pair met behind closed doors ahead of the June announcement of three “mega projects,” including the Honam semiconductor cluster. Schedules are also being coordinated for meetings with other business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

According to the presidential office and industry officials, Lee and Chey met for a private dinner at an undisclosed location on Aug. 20. They met again about three weeks after appearing together at an artificial intelligence summit in San Francisco during Lee’s visit to the US in late July. Details of the talks were not disclosed. They are believed to have broadly discussed semiconductor fab construction in Yongin and Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, US pressure for semiconductor investment in America, and the strategic value of chips in the AI era.

The meeting came as the Trump administration increased its calls for semiconductor investment in the US. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in July that he wanted Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to build factories in the US. The presidential office denied the claim, but reports have also said Washington recently asked for semiconductors to be treated as the first project for investment in the US.

Lee Deepens Contact With Heads of South Korea’s Four Largest Business Groups

Since taking office in June last year, Lee has maintained steady contact with the heads of South Korea’s four biggest business groups. In July last year, about a month after his inauguration, he held separate dinner meetings at his Hannam-dong residence in Seoul with Samsung’s Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG’s Koo. His latest outreach to business chiefs, starting with Chey, appears intended to hear candid views from the corporate sector in private rather than at formal events such as roundtables.

The strategic value of South Korea’s chipmakers has risen in the AI era. That has fueled analysis that Lee is also seeking ideas for running state affairs through close communication with executives such as Chey. Debate is intensifying over the semiconductor supercycle and plans by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to invest 800 trillion won ($578.2 billion) in new fabs in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province. Labor groups are demanding a greater share of semiconductor profits. Samsung Electronics’ labor union argues that the decision itself to invest in the Honam semiconductor cluster should be subject to collective bargaining.

US demands for local chip investment have also emerged as a key issue. “From our perspective, the worst-case scenario is for the US to watch Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announce astronomical domestic investment and then demand investment in America,” an industry official said. In a recent CNBC interview, Chey said every country wants semiconductor factories built within its borders. But such plants depend on a network of 600 to 700 materials and parts suppliers, and the key question is whether that ecosystem can be replicated.

Kim Hyeong-gyu / Han Jae-young, Korea Economic Daily reporters