‘We are family’: South Korea President Lee toasts AI ties with tech titans over fish and chips

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung dined with the leaders of some of the world’s most valuable technology companies on the evening of July 24 at a casual San Francisco restaurant popular with local residents and AI researchers.The gathering at The Ramp restaurant brought together Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, Broadcom president and CEO Hock Tan, and Lani Borkar, president of Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure at Microsoft.The summit also brought together some of South Korea’s most prominent industrial and technology leaders, including Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Chung Euisun and Naver founder and chair Lee Hae-jin.The dinner was intended to foster the kind of relaxed rapport Huang cultivated with South Korean business leaders during his visit to Seoul, when they bonded over chimaek – fried chicken and beer – and Korean barbecue.This time, the executives shared casual California fare, including fish and chips, fried calamari, crab cakes and clam chowder, accompanied by beer.Seemingly recalling Huang’s chimaek gathering in Seoul, Lee lightly clinked beer bottles with the guests and quipped: “We may need some chicken.”“In Korea, family is also described as ‘sikgu’, literally people who share meals,” Lee said. “Not only in Korea but everywhere in the world, sharing a meal carries great meaning.”Lee then proposed a toast, asking the guests to respond, “family”, when he called out: “We are.”“We are family,” Huang replied.The lighthearted banter continued as the executives dined amid the bustle of other patrons at the restaurant.Lee asked Huang whether his visits to Seoul’s Yongsan Electronics Market as a young man had been a major source of inspiration and drive. When Huang said they had, Lee responded with a thumbs-up.When Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon offered to pick up the check, the guests responded with cheers of “You buy dinner? Thank you” and “I love that”.Huang suggested that Bae buy everyone another beer, prompting Lee to jokingly reject the idea on the grounds that Bae was a public official.“Korea is so rich,” Huang said.“That’s true, but he is still a public official,” Lee replied with a laugh.The conversation briefly turned to the South Korean economy.Asked by Huang about the country’s economic growth, Lee said per capita gross domestic product was approaching US$40,000 (S$51,600) and that the economy was expected to grow more than 3 per cent in 2026, after expanding by around 1 per cent in 2025.Lee gestured toward the South Korean business leaders seated beside him, appearing to credit them for the rebound.“Thanks to you,” Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong told Huang.Huang joked that, in that case, he should be allowed another beer. Another round soon arrived.Lee later struck a more serious note as he reflected on the rapid pace of technological change.“So much has changed in just one year,” he said. “The speed is truly astonishing.”During a press briefing, presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom said the dinner conversation also touched on the Kospi. Lee remarked that South Korea’s benchmark Kospi had been going through a correction after a sustained rally, and Huang responded that it would rise again.The companies represented at the table have a combined market capitalisation of about 17 quadrillion won (S$15 trillion), based on their latest closing prices, according to Cheong Wa Dae.Through the informal gathering, Lee sought to deepen personal ties among the South Korean and US business leaders driving the global AI boom and strengthen their commitment to closer cooperation. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK