President Yoon Suk-yeol Dines with Samsung's Lee Jae-yong Amid Major Investment Talks

On July 24, President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to have a dinner meeting with Lee Jae-yong (이재용), the Chairman of Samsung Electronics. This follows recent dinners held by Kim Dong-kwan (김동관), Vice Chairman of Hanwha, with Chey Tae-won (최태원), Chairman of SK Group, on July 22 and 23, respectively. President Yoon has been meeting with leaders of major conglomerates, including Chung Eui-sun (정의선) of Hyundai Motor Group and Koo Kwang-mo (구광모) of LG Group, in a series of discussions aimed at addressing current economic issues.

The upcoming meeting with Lee is expected to focus on investment strategies related to the United States. The South Korean government is preparing to propose a local investment plan exceeding $100 billion (approximately 137 trillion KRW) to the U.S. government as part of ongoing tariff negotiations. Prior to these discussions, the government has been gathering information on available local investment amounts from the four major groups: Samsung, SK, Hyundai, and LG.

While this investment amount is smaller compared to Japan's, it is still significant given that Japan's economy is more than twice the size of South Korea's. Additionally, since these figures represent pure investment plans from the companies, the total proposal could increase if government funding is included. The government is also considering establishing an investment fund similar to Japan's.

Last month, on June 13, President Yoon held a meeting with the heads of the five largest conglomerates, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai, LG, and Lotte, as well as leaders from six economic organizations. During this meeting, he inquired about their plans for U.S. investments, regional revitalization, and research and development (R&D) investments, urging companies to take an active role.

Bloomberg reported that the South Korean government is discussing the establishment of an investment fund in negotiations with the U.S. This comes as domestic companies, including Hyundai Motor Group, announced large-scale local investment plans in response to anticipated significant tariff increases under the incoming Trump administration. In March, Chung Eui-sun met with President Trump to announce a $21 billion investment plan that includes expanding vehicle production in Georgia and building a new steel plant in Louisiana.