Who Paid for the Big Tech Dinner on the $1.375 Trillion AI Deal?... Jensen Huang Jokes, "How About a Golden Bell?"

Vice Prime Minister Bae Kyunghoon Shares Story Behind Paying for San Francisco Dinner
Jensen Huang: "Another Bottle of Beer? How About Golden Bell?" ... A Look Inside the Dinner Event

Bae Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, has revealed the details and behind-the-scenes stories of the collaborative achievements from the Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit dinner held in San Francisco, USA.

President Lee Jae-myung is toasting with attendees at the Global AI Leaders Dinner held on the 24th (local time) at The Ramp restaurant in San Francisco, USA. From right: Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK, President Lee Jae-myung, Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, Chairman Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor Group, Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom, Rani Borcar, President of Microsoft Azure Hardware, and Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 24th (local time), Deputy Prime Minister Bae posted on his Facebook page an article titled “The Most Precious Dinner Bill, and a Promise Worth 1,375 Trillion Won,” sharing behind-the-scenes accounts from the dinner with the CEOs of leading global AI companies following the San Francisco AI Summit.

Attendees at the dinner included President Lee Jaemyung, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, Lee Jay-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chey Taewon, Chairman of SK Group, Chung Euisun, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group, Kim Dongkwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, Lee Haejin, Chairman of the Board at Naver, and Rani Borcar, President of Microsoft Azure Hardware. The event took place at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the San Francisco waterfront, where guests enjoyed fish and chips, mini burgers, and bottled beer in a relaxed atmosphere.

Upon seeing the menu, President Lee joked, "We could use some chicken," referencing a previous gathering—known as the "Kkanbu Meeting"—last October during the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, when CEO Huang visited Korea and met with major business leaders.

Deputy Prime Minister Bae recalled a humorous moment, saying, "Since the Ministry of Science and ICT organized the event, I said, 'I’ll pay for dinner tonight.' Then Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, responded, 'Then I’ll order another beer,' and even went further to say, 'Pay for everyone in the restaurant.' I answered, 'As a public official, that’s a bit difficult,' which drew laughter."

When CEO Huang remarked, "Isn’t Korea a rich country?" another attendee quipped, "Korea’s stock market has also surged." President Lee responded, "Recently, there’s been some correction," to which CEO Huang humorously added, "It will rise again."

During the dinner, President Lee’s toast also resonated with attendees. He said, “In Korea, people who eat together are called ‘shikgu’ (meaning family at the table),” and suggested, “When I say ‘We are,’ please respond with ‘family.’” The attendees enthusiastically joined in, shouting “family” together.

On this, Deputy Prime Minister Bae reflected, “Thanks to this, we were able to discuss the future of AI over the same table with the CEOs of the world’s top AI companies, and share in the meaning of ‘if you eat together, you are family,’ as President Lee mentioned. I believe this was probably the most valuable dinner bill of the year.”

It was actually confirmed that Deputy Prime Minister Bae personally paid the dinner bill. Policy Chief Kim Yongbeom explained in a post-event briefing, “This was a Ministry of Science and ICT event,” adding, “There was a lot of joking and banter at the gathering.”

Deputy Prime Minister Bae assessed that this dinner went beyond a simple social meeting, confirming that South Korea has now established itself as a key nation in the global AI supply chain. He revealed that, through this summit, the scale of AI semiconductor and AI industry cooperation between domestic companies and global big tech corporations reached a total of 950 billion dollars (about 1,375 trillion won). Deputy Prime Minister Bae stated, “I truly felt that Korea has transformed from a country known for selling memory chips to one that is now leading the AI ecosystem.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.