Lee Jae-yong Returning from UAE: "A Great Opportunity to Hear About Global Industry and Future Preparations"

Mohamed Attends Global Conference Hosted by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince (Estimated)

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has completed a business trip to the Middle East, is returning to Korea on the 9th through the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC). Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Heung-soon and Jung Hyun-jin] Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, returned to Korea on the 9th after a 3-night, 4-day business trip to the Middle East. During this trip, Lee is understood to have gained ideas to realize the 'New Samsung' by meeting with global experts and discussing worldwide industry trends and future preparations.

After completing his trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lee entered the country through the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon. He said, "There was a small meeting in Abu Dhabi," adding, "Experts from various fields gathered, and it was a good opportunity to hear how the global situation is unfolding and how different countries and industries are preparing for the future."

The meeting Lee referred to is presumed to be the private forum held annually in winter by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, who invites global business leaders and senior political figures.

Lee has been attending the trial at the Seoul Central District Court every Thursday regarding the unfair merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries and the accounting fraud allegations related to Samsung Biologics. In September, he requested a schedule change due to circumstances on the defendant's side. Consequently, the second trial date this month was changed to Monday, the 6th. This is interpreted as being to attend this meeting. Lee's official visit to the UAE is the first in about two years since 2019.

It is understood that major global figures have attended the meeting hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed. Previously, The New York Times (NYT) reported in December 2018 that the attendee list included former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Hadley who served as National Security Advisor under the Bush administration, American businessman Mohamed A. El-Erian (Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, former CEO of PIMCO), David M. Rubenstein (co-founder of The Carlyle Group), Thomas S. Kaplan (Chairman of Electrum Group, a US investment firm), and Chinese computer scientist and investor Kai-Fu Lee.

Lee is also presumed to have met Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who visited Abu Dhabi during this trip. Previously, in June 2019, Lee met Crown Prince bin Salman at Seungjiwon during the latter's visit to Korea to discuss cooperation plans in future growth industries. The Saudi side is known to have shown great interest in the future vision Lee presented, including artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, and system semiconductors, and met with him accordingly.

In September of the same year, Lee visited Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince bin Salman in Riyadh, where they exchanged views on cooperation plans in various fields such as local technology, industry, construction, energy, and smart cities. He also visited the Riyadh downtown subway construction site, where Samsung C&T is building, to encourage employees. Lee had previously discussed investment and cooperation plans in the industrial, construction, energy, and smart city sectors with Crown Prince bin Salman during his visit to Saudi Arabia in September 2019.

In the business community, it is also anticipated that during this trip, Lee congratulated the UAE on its 50th anniversary of founding this year and possibly requested cooperation from influential figures to help Korea secure the 2030 Busan World Expo, which the Korean government is determined to host.

Earlier, Lee continued his global management activities by embarking on a UAE trip just 12 days after returning from a US business trip from the 14th to the 24th of last month. However, he did not respond to questions regarding the recent Samsung Electronics regular personnel reshuffle or future plans. Using the 'Businessman Fast Track,' a rapid testing system for businesspeople, Lee will undergo a COVID-19 test immediately upon return. Due to the spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, overseas arrivals are required to self-quarantine for 10 days, but Lee is exempted from quarantine as he qualifies as 'essential personnel such as executives' for companies.

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