Chairman Chey Tae-won to Visit Washington D.C. This Month... First Trip to the U.S. Since Trump's Second Term

Attending the 'TPD' Event in Washington D.C.
Hosted by Choi Jong-hyun Academy, Chaired by Choi Tae-won
Focus on Possible Meetings with International Political and Business Leaders

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group and Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will visit Washington D.C., USA, later this month. This will be his first trip to the United States since the inauguration of the second Trump administration, drawing attention to whether he will meet with overseas political and business figures.

According to the business community on the 2nd, Chairman Choi is expected to attend the Trans-Pacific Dialogue (TPD) held at the Salamander Hotel in Washington D.C. on the 21st and 22nd, where he will present economic cooperation plans to overcome geopolitical crises.

An SK Group official said, "Since the event is hosted by the Academy, there is a high possibility of Chairman Choi's attendance," adding, "However, the detailed topics and attendees are yet to be decided."

TPD is an event organized by the Choi Jong-hyun Academy, chaired by Chairman Choi, since 2021. It gathers opinion leaders from Korea, the United States, and Japan to analyze various issues in the Pacific and Northeast Asia and seek solutions. Although it is usually held in December, this year it will be held in February considering the political schedules of the United States and Japan, and the event scale will be expanded.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group and Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is delivering a greeting at the National Assembly Speaker-KCCI meeting for social dialogue held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on August 23 last year. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

The agenda for this TPD reportedly includes U.S. foreign policy, security in the United States and East Asia, and cooperation methods in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Previous events have seen the participation of prominent figures from Korea, the United States, and Japan, such as Kurt Campbell, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Jon Ossoff, U.S. Senator from Georgia; Bill Hagerty, U.S. Senator from Tennessee; Ron Klain, former White House Chief of Staff; Satoshi Morimoto, former Japanese Defense Minister; and Ichiro Fujisaki, former Japanese Ambassador to the United States.

According to the schedule known so far, this will be the first visit to Washington D.C. by the head of one of Korea's four major conglomerates since the start of the second Trump administration.

Earlier, on the 19th, ahead of President Trump's inauguration, Chairman Choi appeared on KBS's 'Sunday Diagnosis' and stated, "Uncertainties such as U.S.-led tariff increases and resulting inflationary pressures, and rapid technological changes in artificial intelligence (AI) are approaching like a triple wave," suggesting global economic solidarity, supplementation of the export-driven model, and expansion of domestic demand as solutions to overcome these challenges.

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