Last week, everywhere ‘this person’ went was packed with people. A single remark from him made blue-chip stocks sway, and even what he ate drew attention. This is about NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who departed on the 9th after a four-night, five-day visit to Korea.

Upon arrival, CEO Jensen Huang said that “a surprise gift for Korea has been prepared.” Over five days, he met everyone from the heads of major conglomerates to startup leaders, and at places such as PC rooms·ballparks·universities, he unpacked his ‘bundle of gifts’. The uproarious visit has ended, and now it is time to calmly examine what he brought. His gifts have left us with homework.

“Now is the time for Korea.” Throughout his stay, CEO Jensen Huang praised Korea. He emphasized cooperation with Korean companies in diverse areas, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), robotics, and cloud. However, no concrete investment plan was visible. This contrasted with last month in Taiwan, his home, where he announced an annual investment plan of $150 billion (about 225 trillion KRW). Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, even said, “I told him not to do only a show in Korea but to invest as well.”

We should also examine the forms of collaboration with Korean companies that CEO Jensen Huang described. In most cases, it is a model in which Korean firms ‘ride on’ NVIDIA platforms. Take LG, for example. He said he is focusing on robotics collaboration with LG. LG plans to strengthen collaboration based on NVIDIA ‘Isaac Groot’ ecosystem to co-develop NVIDIA reference (development-standard) robots.

Let us also look at Doosan. Doosan Robotics is developing an agentic robot operating system using NVIDIA ‘Isaac Sim’ robotic virtual laboratory platform. Elsewhere, wherever CEO Jensen Huang went, NVIDIA platforms such as ‘DSX’ and ‘Cosmos’ were mentioned alongside. This is why some argue that the more Korean companies collaborate with NVIDIA, the more they risk being absorbed into an NVIDIA-centric ecosystem.

Experts say cooperation with NVIDIA must not end in technological dependence. They argue that an independent AI ecosystem should be built and diversified. Lee Kyung-Jeon, a professor in the Department of Big Data Applications at Kyung Hee University, told the Kyunghyang Shinmun by phone, “There are both gains and losses in Korean companies entering the NVIDIA ecosystem,” adding, “They should maintain a ‘two-track’ strategy that continues independent technology development while cooperating with NVIDIA.”

There is no reason for Korean companies to cast themselves as the ‘subordinate’ side. NVIDIA chose Korean companies out of necessity. SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are key partners that supply HBM to NVIDIA. Companies such as LG and Doosan have manufacturing capabilities and experience that NVIDIA lacks.

While collaborating with NVIDIA, we must steadily ensure that Korean companies do not lose the initiative. The AI industry requires large-scale investment, and because it is a future growth engine for the country, the government and businesses must put their heads together. Kim Yong-beom, Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy, yesterday (the 11th) also unveiled the ‘Project Trinity’ plan, which integrates semiconductors, data centers, and physical AI into a single circular structure to make Korea a key hub of the AI supply chain.

Collaboration with NVIDIA is certainly beneficial for Korean companies. For instance, Naver has decided to pursue a joint project with NVIDIA to build an AI factory, with a strategy to expand beyond the Asia·Pacific into the European and Middle Eastern markets. NVIDIA also agreed to co-invest in the Saemangeum robotics and hydrogen advanced industry cluster that Hyundai Motor is promoting.

Even if one were to say that CEO Jensen Huang offered only ‘lip service’ in Korea, the significance of his visit is by no means trivial. It impressed upon the global market that Korea is a key player in the AI industry. This should be taken as an opportunity for Korean companies to be more highly valued in the global market and to play more important roles. ‘Gganbu’ is slang for a close friend. For NVIDIA and Korean companies to become true gganbu, they will need to diligently tackle the homework that CEO Huang left for Korea.

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