Chey Tae-won: "We Should Copy Nvidia's Strategy... The Formula for AI Success Is Speed, Scale, and Security"

Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, proposed large-scale investments in AI data center infrastructure and Korea-Japan economic integration as strategic responses for South Korea amid the US-China competition for dominance in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Presenting "speed, scale, and security" as the formula for success in the AI era, he stressed, "We should copy Nvidia's strategy."

Chairman Chey Tae-won of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman of SK Group) is delivering a lecture on the topic "Growth Strategy of the Republic of Korea Amid US-China AI Technology Hegemony Competition" at the Korea-China Parliamentary League policy seminar held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on April 28, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

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On April 28, at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Chairman Chey delivered a special lecture titled "Growth Strategy of South Korea Amid the US-China AI Technology Hegemony Competition" at the first 2026 policy seminar hosted by the Korea-China Parliamentary Alliance.

Chairman Chey identified the capital and electricity required for data centers, graphics processing units (GPUs), and memory chips as the main bottlenecks in the AI race. He emphasized, "How each country leverages these bottlenecks is the key to its AI growth strategy."

He particularly likened AI data centers not just to storage facilities but to "factories producing intelligence," highlighting Korea's lack of infrastructure. He explained, "Less than 5% of domestic data centers can be used as AI data centers," and stated, "To overcome this, approximately 50 billion dollars must be invested to build 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity."

He also addressed the issue of electricity supply. "A single nuclear power plant generates about 1 GW, but in reality, a buffer of 1.2 to 1.3 GW is needed to operate AI data centers stably," he said. "South Korea, with a power reserve ratio of over 30%, can operate an additional 50 GW, but the challenge lies in low transmission efficiency." He added, "China has already surpassed the United States in electricity production and is expected to accelerate even further."

Chairman Chey cited speed, scale, and security as the keys to success in the era of AI technology dominance. "Even if it's imperfect, you need to create it quickly to attract people and secure at least a minimum scale," he said, adding, "We should first copy Nvidia's strategy."

He further suggested that forming an economic union with Japan at the level of integration would be an excellent response amid the US-China competition for dominance. "If we integrate with Japan, our combined gross domestic product (GDP) would increase to 6 trillion dollars," he argued. "We must go beyond mere cooperation with Japan, which is in a similar position to us, and move toward economic integration."

He added, "We need to use AI to build South Korea's growth model," emphasizing, "We must guard against the negative effects that AI may bring and, in the long term, change our geopolitical position."

The Korea-China Parliamentary Alliance, which organized the seminar, is a bipartisan parliamentary diplomacy platform with 145 lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, continuing policy discussions in various fields such as the economy, diplomacy, and advanced industries.

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