According to comprehensive Korean media reports, Lee Jae-yong, president of Samsung Electronics, Cui Taiyuan, president of SK Group, Zheng Yixuan, president of Hyundai Motor Group, and Koo Kwang-mo, president of LG Group, will gather at the private estate "Mar-a-Lago" of US President Trump in Palm Beach, Florida this weekend. Korean media said that this is the first time that the heads of the four major Korean groups have visited here at the same time. In view of the ongoing tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States, this gathering at the "Weekend White House" was regarded as "symbolic and sensitive to timing". Some Korean media reminded that Korean companies still have concerns about the investment environment in the United States after the "arrest" incident in September this year.
According to the Associated Press, the event was hosted by Sun Jitsu, chairman of SoftBank Group, who is pushing forward with US companies OpenAI and Oracle to jointly invest $50 billion in the construction of an AI infrastructure project called the “Star Gate”.
Today’s America that Trump will travel to Sea Lake Lodge from 17 to 19 local time and plans to play golf alongside South Korean entrepreneurs, while communicating directly.
South Korea's "East Asia Daily" analyzed that the meeting was both a business event and had obvious political connotations. In the context of the South Korea-US tariff negotiations that have not yet been finalized, Trump may use this to directly attract investment from South Korean companies, and the heads of the above-mentioned four South Korean groups may emphasize the importance of "win-win" cooperation between South Korea and the United States.
According to previous reports, South Korea and the United States reached a trade agreement framework at the end of July, but they have not yet reached a final agreement on the specific implementation plan. The dispute mainly focuses on South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment to the United States. The ROK stressed that it is difficult to make a one-time capital contribution in cash according to the requirements of the US, and the two sides continue to see-saw this.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent said in an interview with CNBC website on the 15th, "We are solving the details, which shows that the two sides are trying to promote coordination at the technical level." Yonhap News Agency reported that the South Korean delegation visiting the United States to promote follow-up negotiations visited the White House Office of Management and Budget on the 16th, showing that consultations at the working level are accelerating. However, on the same day, Trump reiterated at the White House press conference that South Korea will pay $350 billion in investment funds "in the form of advance payment". This statement is in sharp contrast to the previous position of the ROK, and it is considered that it may add variables to the negotiations between the two sides.
The Korean media has generally paid attention to whether the "Hai Lake Farm Meeting" will bring a turn to the impasse in the Korean-U.S. economic and trade negotiations. The Korean media commented that Trump or the South Korean enterprise investment plan for the U.S. economy. But the South Korean business community is still concerned about the stability of the U.S. market. Especially in September, the U.S. Immigration Bureau stormed South Korean modern cars and LG New Energy in the construction of battery factories and arrested 475 people (more than 300 people are South Korean citizens) after the outbreak of the incident, many South Korean enterprises said that they were "very hesitant" to invest in the United States.
Global Times Korean special journalist.