Latest news with #ShinsegaeGroup
Korea Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Shinsegae Chair Chung Yong-jin meets with Trump at state dinner in Qatar: sources
Chung Yong-jin, chairman of South Korean retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group, has met with US President Donald Trump this week during the latter's trip to the Middle East, industry sources said Thursday. Chung attended a state dinner hosted Wednesday by Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Lusail Palace in Doha, according to the sources. He was reportedly the only Asian businessperson invited to the event. During the dinner, Chung exchanged greetings with Trump, who introduced him to the Qatari leader as a friend of his son, Donald Trump Jr. This marks Chung's second face-to-face meeting with the US president, following his previous encounter with then President-elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in December. Chung is known to be a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., who visited Seoul last month at Chung's invitation. (Yonhap)
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Samsung executives warn of trade uncertainty as demand for chips softens
Executives at the chips-to-smartphones titan warned of heightened uncertainty for the rest of the year stemming from geopolitical tensions and US tariff policies. Even before US president Donald Trump announced tariffs on almost all countries around the world, customers put some data centre projects on hold, weakening demand for Samsung's solid-state drives in the March quarter, an executive from the company's memory business told analysts. Samsung's total capital expenditure in the quarter fell more than 30pc from the previous quarter to 12 trillion won (€7.4bn). The South Korean company's flagship products such as semiconductors, smartphones and tablets are now exempt from the so-called reciprocal tariffs, but Mr Trump has indicated that a tariff on the electronics supply chain including chips is in the works. 'There are a lot of uncertainties ahead of us,' said KL Roh, an executive vice president at Samsung. Operating profit at Samsung's chip division tumbled 42pc to 1.1 trillion won due to declines in average selling price. Sales of its key high-bandwidth memory chips also fell due to export controls, with some clients also deferring orders in anticipation of upcoming enhanced HBM3E products, according to Samsung. In recent high-profile trade talks, Seoul and Washington agreed to pursue a comprehensive package agreement by July 8, when the 90-day tariff pause is set to end. Fears about what the final trade agreement would look like hang over Samsung's outlook, outweighing a boost from customers stockpiling PC chip supplies ahead of US tariffs and a recovery in smartphone sales. Donald Trump Jr was in Seoul yesterday to meet with leaders of Korean conglomerates on the invitation of Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin, underscoring escalating concern in the country's business community. Korean business leaders had asked Mr Chung to facilitate the visit to establish contact with the Trump administration, according to local reports. Customers from Apple to Lenovo Group hastened shipments of consumer products to the US over the first quarter of the year to preempt tariffs. Samsung's own Galaxy S25 flagship smartphone series also buoyed earnings. That helped boost net income to 8.03 trillion won, above estimates. But such one-time pre-tariff gains have done little to assuage concern about long-term demand. Analysts including Canalys see the first-quarter surge in shipments as an acceleration of deliveries from later in the year.
Korea Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Trump Jr. taps Korean tycoons in Seoul visit
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, held a series of closed-door meetings with around 20 business leaders from Korean conglomerates on Wednesday, during a private visit at the invitation of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin. According to industry sources, Trump Jr. met with business figures including Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, Hanwha Life President Kim Dong-won, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Vice President Kim Dong-seon, Lotte Corp. Executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, CJ Group Chair Lee Jae-hyun, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin. Due to the sensitivity of the discussions, details of the meetings were kept strictly confidential. Major conglomerates met with Trump Jr. individually, while mid-sized enterprises took part in group meetings. The one-on-one meetings reportedly lasted between 30 minutes and one hour. Trump Jr.'s visit is not part of an official US government delegation, and he was not expected to meet with political or government officials, out of respect for White House guidance. He arrived in Seoul at around 6:25 p.m. on Tuesday via private jet at Gimpo Business Aviation Center and began his two-day visit with a dinner hosted by the Shinsegae chairman and his wife. It marks Trump Jr.'s first trip to Korea since August of last year and his first since the beginning of his father's second term as president. Experts say the visit could be a valuable opportunity for Korean conglomerates to deepen personal networks within US business and political circles, potentially yielding strategic synergies. '(Trump Jr.'s latest visit) offers a rare chance to explore how we can receive support in expanding our business presence in the US,' said Oh Il-sun, director at the CXO Research Institute. 'It's also about identifying mutual interests where both sides can achieve win-win outcomes.' An industry source, who requested anonymity, said, 'Key topics likely included trade challenges such as tariffs, as well as ways to boost bilateral investment and economic cooperation (between the US and Korea).' The source further speculated, 'Given the US interest in Korea's IT and shipbuilding industries, discussions may have touched on potential areas for negotiation and collaboration.'
Korea Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Trump Jr. meets Korean tycoons in Seoul visit
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, held a series of closed-door meetings with around 20 business leaders from Korean conglomerates on Wednesday, during a private visit at the invitation of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin. According to industry sources, Trump Jr. met with business figures including Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, Hanwha Life President Kim Dong-won, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Vice President Kim Dong-seon, Lotte Corp. Executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, CJ Group Chair Lee Jae-hyun, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin. Due to the sensitivity of the discussions, details of the meetings were kept strictly confidential. Major conglomerates met with Trump Jr. individually, while mid-sized enterprises took part in group meetings. The one-on-one meetings reportedly lasted between 30 minutes and one hour. Trump Jr.'s visit is not part of an official US government delegation, and he was not expected to meet with political or government officials, out of respect for White House guidance. He arrived in Seoul at around 6:25 p.m. on Tuesday via private jet at Gimpo Business Aviation Center and began his two-day visit with a dinner hosted by the Shinsegae chairman and his wife. It marks Trump Jr.'s first trip to Korea since August of last year and his first since the beginning of his father's second term as president. Experts say the visit could be a valuable opportunity for Korean conglomerates to deepen personal networks within US business and political circles, potentially yielding strategic synergies. '(Trump Jr.'s latest visit) offers a rare chance to explore how we can receive support in expanding our business presence in the US,' said Oh Il-sun, director at the CXO Research Institute. 'It's also about identifying mutual interests where both sides can achieve win-win outcomes.' An industry source, who requested anonymity, said, 'Key topics likely included trade challenges such as tariffs, as well as ways to boost bilateral investment and economic cooperation (between the US and Korea).' The source further speculated, 'Given the US interest in Korea's IT and shipbuilding industries, discussions may have touched on potential areas for negotiation and collaboration.'
Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Trump Jr. arrives in Seoul for meeting with biz leaders amid tariff concerns
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a meeting with around 20 business leaders from South Korean conglomerates, industry sources said. The two-day trip by Trump Jr., his first to South Korea since his father's inauguration in January, comes at the invitation of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin. Per sources, Trump Jr. arrived at Gimpo International Airport, western Seoul, in his private jet at around 6:25 p.m. Tuesday. It had been scheduled to touch down at 4:45 p.m. but there had been a slight delay before the departure. Wearing a black cap and a long-sleeve shirt, Trump Jr. left the airport without speaking to the dozens of waiting South Korean reporters. South Korean business circles asked Chung to facilitate Trump Jr.'s visit as a way to establish contact with the Trump administration, according to the sources. Business leaders from the semiconductor, automobile, energy, steelmaking and defense industries have reportedly expressed interest in holding one-on-one meetings with him. On Wednesday, Trump Jr. is expected to have separate meetings with about 20 heads of the country's major conglomerates in Seoul. For companies that export to the US and seek a reliable communication channel with Washington, these meetings offer a rare opportunity to connect directly with a figure closely tied to President Trump, the sources said. Trump Jr. reportedly does not have any scheduled public meetings with South Korean politicians or government officials during his two-day stay. Chung and Trump Jr. are known to be close. In December, Trump Jr. invited the Shinsegae chairman to his father's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which led to a meeting between Chung and then President-elect Trump. The Trump administration began imposing "reciprocal tariffs," including 25 percent duties on South Korea, on April 9, only to announce a 90-day pause shortly afterward. In recent high-profile trade talks, Seoul and Washington agreed to pursue a comprehensive package agreement by July 8, when the 90-day tariff pause is set to expire. (Yonhap)
