Heads of Korea's four major conglomerates. Yonhap News file photo. 

As the possibility of a final deal in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations grows, the heads of major domestic corporate groups are heading to Mar-a-Lago, the resort known as U.S. President Donald Trump’s private estate.

The business leaders were invited by Masayoshi Son, chairman of Japan's SoftBank, and are expected to have contact with President Trump, who will be participating in golf meetings during his visit.

According to industry sources on the 16th, the heads of the four major groups—Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo—accepted Chairman Son's invitation and are visiting the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, starting today.

Of these, Chairman Lee and Chairman Chung reportedly traveled to the U.S. today after attending the 'Korea-U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue (TED)' held in Japan on the 15th. Chairman Chey and Chairman Koo are also expected to depart from Korea individually.

Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, a key player in the 'MASGA' Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project, is also expected to join the group leaders soon.

Chairman Masayoshi Son and President Trump. Yonhap News file photo. 

This visit by the corporate heads was arranged at the invitation of Chairman Masayoshi Son.

Chairman Son and SoftBank are currently pushing for the $500 billion (700 trillion KRW) "Stargate Project," which involves building AI data centers across the U.S. in collaboration with OpenAI and Oracle.

The event was reportedly organized by Chairman Son to bring together companies participating in the project to celebrate the 90th birthday of South African professional golfer Gary Player.

According to USA Today and other sources, leaders and CEOs from about 70 global companies are attending the event. President Trump is also scheduled to visit Mar-a-Lago from the 17th to the 19th to encourage investment in the U.S. and participate in golf meetings with business leaders.

It has not yet been confirmed whether President Trump will have individual interactions, such as golf games, with the visiting Korean corporate leaders.

However, industry insiders suggest that since these leaders have pledged large-scale investments in the U.S., there is a high possibility that an opportunity for them to speak with President Trump will be arranged.

The corporate heads are expected to use this opportunity to provide support for the tariff negotiations, which are currently in the final stages of resolution.

In particular, leaders like Hyundai Motor Group’s Euisun Chung, whose group faces inevitable losses amounting to trillions of won due to delays in tariff reductions, are expected to be more active in persuading President Trump.

Mar-a-Lago Club. EPA=Yonhap News. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on the 15th (local time) that he is confident that differences regarding Korea’s investment pledges to the U.S. will be resolved and that progress will be made within the next 10 days, leading to speculation that both countries have reached a degree of consensus on the structure of the investment fund.

Mar-a-Lago is a site where several global investment plans have been announced since the start of the second Trump administration, and it is possible that discussions regarding investment support for our companies will take place there.

Previously, when President Trump was first elected in 2016, Chairman Son visited Mar-a-Lago to announce a $50 billion investment plan for the U.S., and in December of last year, after Trump’s re-election, he announced an additional $100 billion investment plan at the same venue.

In January of this year, Hussain Sajwani, chairman of the UAE-based real estate developer DAMAC, announced at least $20 billion in data center investments at Mar-a-Lago.

NVIDIA also announced plans to build AI production infrastructure worth up to $500 billion following a dinner with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

An industry official stated, "Given that this meeting was organized by Chairman Son's invitation, interest is focused on whether discussions regarding the structure of the investment fund or additional investment plans will take place."

Yonhap News