Jensen Huang kicks off Korea visit with samgyeopsal and soju dinner alongside SK, LG and Naver chiefs

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang launched his Korea visit Friday evening with a pork-belly and soju dinner alongside the heads of SK Group, LG Group and Naver at a restaurant near Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo arrived first, appearing at Hyeongnim Jeoyo — a samgyeopsal, or grilled pork-belly, restaurant near Hongik University — at 6:52 p.m. in a white shirt and black cardigan.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won followed shortly after in a navy shirt, greeting Koo with a pat on the shoulder as he walked in.

Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin also arrived in a relaxed outfit — a gray round-neck T-shirt and beige jacket — and shook hands with both Chey and Koo.

The three settled around a circular tabletop grill set among the restaurant's regular diners and waited for Huang. On the table sat a bottle each of Chamisul soju and Terra beer. They clinked beer glasses and chatted while they waited.

Huang arrived at 7:10 p.m. to applause from bystanders, pausing to chat briefly with other diners and sign autographs before taking his seat. His eldest daughter, Madison Huang, Nvidia's senior director of Omniverse and robotics marketing, accompanied him.

The moment Huang sat down, the four clinked their soju-beer glasses and the dinner was under way. Chey and Lee flanked Huang on either side, with Koo seated directly across.

Koo, born in 1978 and the youngest at the table, mixed the soju and beer himself, tended the grill and fetched napkins for the group.

Huang, who has made a habit of hosting lively soju-and-beer dinners with Korean business leaders on past visits, led the table with the same unguarded energy. He raised his glass toward the assembled press and led a toast, shouting, "Go Korea! SK! LG! Naver!"

Madison Huang also stopped by the table to greet the group during the meal. Nvidia staff seated nearby joined in the festive mood, taking selfies as they ate.

The already-busy Hongdae area descended into near-gridlock Friday evening as large crowds gathered for a rare chance to see some of the world's most prominent tech and business figures in one place.

Word that Huang — chief of the world's leading AI chipmaker — would be dining alongside Korea's top chaebol heads drew ordinary citizens, journalists and foreign tourists to the restaurant well before the group arrived.

Police deployed to the scene from 1:30 p.m. to prevent accidents, erecting crowd-control barriers around the restaurant and working to manage the flow of people.

Private security personnel monitored the VIPs' movements closely and asked members of the public to stay behind the barriers.

The four-way dinner drew comparisons to a similarly buzzed-about gathering last October at Kkanboo Chicken in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

At that earlier meeting, Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung mingled freely with other patrons late into the night, openly drinking soju-beer mixes to wide attention.

The scenes of some of Korea's most powerful executives mingling with ordinary customers, posing for photos and signing autographs were widely seen as projecting an unusually down-to-earth image.

Attention also turned to what the four discussed over the grill. Chey and Huang had already met separately in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 2, making Friday's dinner a reunion just three days later — suggesting the evening leaned more toward casual conversation than business.

Koo's appearance drew particular interest given his relatively low public profile. With LG Group in the midst of a broad AI transformation push, Koo is expected to use the dinner as an opportunity to deepen his relationship with Huang ahead of more substantive talks.

Those talks are set for June 8 at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, where the two are scheduled to hold a formal business meeting to advance cooperation on AI, robotics and HVAC projects.

As for the bill, Lee paid using a Naver Pay terminal.

Lee has met Huang multiple times before — at Nvidia's US headquarters and at last year's APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. With Huang set to visit Naver's second headquarters, the 1784 building in Bundang, Seongnam, on June 8, Friday's dinner was expected to be a relaxed prelude to that meeting.

The samgyeopsal dinner marks the opening event of Huang's three-night, four-day Korea itinerary, which includes a relay of meetings with gaming industry CEOs, AI and robotics startups, and students at Seoul National University.