Lee seeks progress on mega projects in talks with chaebol chiefs

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is arranging separate meetings with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong this week to advance his three flagship mega projects, including a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region, physical AI, and AI data-center infrastructure. The talks follow a private dinner with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Aug. 20 and come as Samsung and SK hynix face competing demands to invest domestically and in the US, with the Trump administration pressing for increased US manufacturing investment.

Meetings with Samsung and Hyundai chiefs likely to focus on Honam chip cluster, Saemangeum investment and infrastructure hurdles South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is expected to continue discussions with the country’s top business leaders this week as his government pushes to turn pledges into projects on the ground. Lee is arranging separate meetings with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong after holding a private dinner with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won in Seoul on Aug. 20, according to sources on Tuesday. The presidential office declined to confirm the schedules, saying it does not comment on private presidential engagements. The talks are expected to center on Lee’s three flagship “mega projects” — developing a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern Honam region, fostering physical AI and expanding AI data-center infrastructure — as well as obstacles involving power, water, permits and regulation. With Chung, Hyundai’s planned investment in Saemangeum is likely to be high on the agenda. The automaker has announced plans to invest about 9 trillion won $6.5 billion in AI data centers, robotics production facilities and hydrogen infrastructure on Korea’s southwest coast. Lee has closely followed progress on the project, raising expectations that the two will discuss its implementation and potential links with the government’s physical-AI and data-center initiatives. Samsung’s Lee is expected to discuss the planned Honam semiconductor cluster, in which Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are key participants. The two chipmakers have each announced plans for two front-end fabs in the region. However, the project faces hurdles including electricity and water supplies and the relocation of the Gwangju military airport. The meetings come as Korea’s largest conglomerates face competing demands to invest at home and in the US. Samsung and SK hynix are expanding capacity to meet soaring AI-related memory demand, while the Trump administration is also pressing Korean companies to increase US manufacturing investment. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has recently called for greater memory chip production in the US, adding to concerns in Seoul that overseas expansion could weigh on domestic investment. The issue is also tied to the investment commitments agreed upon during last year’s Korea-US tariff negotiations. Seoul and Washington are discussing the first project under the package, with energy among the areas under consideration. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said after meeting Lutnick in Washington earlier this month that their talks did not include semiconductor investment. Lee has stepped up contact with business leaders in recent months. Ahead of the mega-project announcement in June, he held separate meetings with Chey and Samsung’s Lee. In July, he met Lee, Chey and Chung in San Francisco alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other global technology executives to discuss AI cooperation. herim@heraldcorp.com