This article is by Lee Jae-lim, Park Eun-jee and read by an artificial voice.



The chiefs of Korea's top chipmakers and shipbuilders, along with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, are set to gather at next week's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, a high-profile event expected to shape both tariff negotiations and broader business cooperation in AI and advanced manufacturing.

One of the first breakthroughs came in the shipbuilding sector on Sunday, where the largest shipbuilders from both countries - HD Hyundai and Huntington Ingalls Industries - agreed to jointly construct logistics support vessels for the U.S. Navy and to invest in or acquire U.S. shipyards.

This marks the first time the two nations will build vessels together, marking a milestone that underscores U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that shipbuilding should become a key pillar of Korea-U.S. cooperation tied to the tariff talks.

Still, Seoul and Washington have been at odds over the structure of a $350 billion investment requested by the Trump administration, leading to months of back-and-forth bargaining since a preliminary accord was reached on July 31.



Japan wrapped up its own tariff negotiations with the United States on July 22, but the MOU was not signed until Sept. 4, when the two nations issued a second joint statement. The talks between Seoul and Washington are expected to follow a similar trajectory - with security provisions potentially added to the final document, including revisions to a Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement and expanded defense cost-sharing.

Notably, Korea is seeking to widen its limited rights to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and enrich uranium - a sensitive point that could be incorporated into the agreement.

Coinciding with the APEC gathering, the APEC CEO Summit will bring together some 1,700 global business leaders in Korea's largest-ever private economic forum. Five business scions - Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun - are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit on Wednesday, the same day President Trump and President Lee Jae Myung are expected to hold a summit.

Running from Tuesday to Friday under the theme "3B: Bridge, Business, Beyond," the CEO event will feature 20 sessions and over 85 speakers covering topics such as regional economic integration, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, sustainability, finance, investment and the bio-healthcare industry.

Shipbuilding in focus

Shipbuilding, which accounts for $150 billion of the proposed $350 billion investment package, has emerged as a key bargaining point. The Trump administration views shipbuilding cooperation as vital to reviving the U.S. maritime industry and countering China's growing dominance in the sector.

So far, the shipbuilding cooperation has been limited to maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for U.S. Navy vessels. Under the MOU, HD Hyundai and Huntington Ingalls will seek a wider range of partnerships including the exchange of know-how in warship development and the establishment of a joint engineering venture on top of support vessel construction and joint investment toward U.S. shipyards.

"This MOU represents a concrete case of collaboration between Korea and the United States' leading defense shipbuilders, including joint participation in U.S. Navy procurement projects and investment to secure shipbuilding bases within the United States," said Joo Won-ho, president of the Naval & Special Ship Business Unit at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.

"I am confident that Korea's advanced shipbuilding technology and the competitiveness of the U.S. defense market will generate powerful synergy," he said.

HD Hyundai's Chung, who assumed the chairman role on Oct. 17, is scheduled to deliver a keynote address during the summit's Future Tech Forum series on Monday. He will discuss the f...