Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting South Korea for a two-day schedule, has been meeting with various domestic business leaders in a 'relay meeting' on the 30th. As of 3 p.m., it is reported that the three brothers of Hanwha Group, Lee Hae-jin, the chairman of Naver (NAVER), and Yang Jong-hee, the chairman of KB Financial Group, have finished their discussions with Trump Jr. The meetings with the business leaders are being conducted so secretly that it is difficult to confirm the timing and locations.
According to the business community on that day, Kim Dong-kwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group, Kim Dong-won, president of Hanwha Life, and Kim Dong-sun, vice president in charge of future vision at Hanwha Galleria & Hotel and Resort, appeared around 8 a.m. at the Chosun Palace Seoul Gangnam, where Trump Jr. is staying.
Those dressed in suits are reported to have been the first among corporate leaders to conduct relay meetings with Trump Jr. Given that Hanwha Group is actively pursuing shipbuilding and solar power businesses in the U.S., it is presumed that discussions related to these topics took place.
The three brothers of Hanwha Group were spotted around 8:45 a.m. at a coffee shop in Hotel East Dong packaging coffee after their meeting. The eldest son, Vice Chairman Kim, is reported to be moving to meet John Phelan, the Minister of the U.S. Navy, who is set to visit Hanwha Ocean's Geoje plant later that afternoon. The youngest son, President Kim, responded to reporters asking about the meeting while boarding his vehicle with coffee, saying, 'I just came to enjoy some coffee.'
Lee Hae-jin, the founder of Naver, who recently returned to the board of directors, also met with Trump Jr. that day to discuss mutual cooperation plans including AI (artificial intelligence). A Naver official noted, 'We shared opinions on AI, tech, and global expansion, and had a positive dialogue on mutual cooperation.' In the financial sector, Yang Jong-hee, chairman of KB Financial Group, was the only one to participate in the meeting. Chairman Yang is said to have discussed various investment plans.
Shin Yoo-yeol, vice president in charge of future growth at LOTTE Corporation (also overseeing global strategies at LOTTE Biologics), is also reported to be participating in a meeting with Trump Jr. Earlier, Vice President Shin accompanied a delegation of economic envoys from The Federation of Korean Industries led by Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, on a visit to Indonesia from the 28th to the 29th. Shin then moved to Vietnam to check on local business and is reported to have returned to South Korea for the meeting with Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. is also known to have meetings with Lee Jae-hyun, chairman of CJ Group, Huh Yong-soo, president of GS Energy, Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, Gu Ja-eun, chairman of LS Group, and Cho Won-tae, chairman of Korean Air.
The meetings between Trump Jr. and the domestic business leaders are taking place in a separate security zone within the hotel, with access restricted to those outside of the involved parties. The movement paths within the building have not been disclosed to the press. Individual meeting times are reported to range from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Trump Jr. entered the country around 6:20 p.m. on the 29th via a chartered flight through the Gimpo Business Aviation Center. He then moved to the residence of Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, and reportedly had dinner together for about two hours starting at 9 p.m. Trump Jr. is scheduled to depart that afternoon.