Last week, it was reported that Lee Jae-Yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, has embarked on a business trip to Japan after returning from China.
Chairman Lee met with Han Duck-Soo, acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, at the Prime Minister's residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 1st, noting, "I visited China for a week last week," and said, "Today, I am going to Japan for another 5 to 6 days."
The specific destinations for Chairman Lee remain undisclosed. However, it is assumed that he will accelerate global management by meeting with executives from major Japanese partner companies to discuss collaboration plans.
In particular, there is keen interest in whether a meeting will take place with Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank. In February, Chairman Lee held a tri-party meeting in the Seocho headquarters with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Masayoshi Son. At that time, it was reported that Chairman Lee discussed collaboration plans related to the "Stargate" project, a massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center construction initiative worth $500 billion (approximately 700 trillion won) announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Earlier, from the 22nd to the 28th of last month, Chairman Lee visited China for a week to attend the China Development Forum and other events. During that time, he visited Chinese electric vehicle companies such as Xiaomi and BYD to explore cooperation in the semiconductor and automotive sectors. He also attended a meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping.