[E-Daily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] SamsungElectronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed on the 7th to attend the “Sun Valley Conference” in the United States, which brings together chief executive officers (CEOs) from the global information technology (IT) industry. Chairman Lee is scheduled to attend the event in Sun Valley, Idaho, and engage with global big tech executives.

According to business circles on the 7th, Chairman Lee departed for the U.S. via the Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at approximately 5:07 p.m. that day. Chairman Lee will participate in the Sun Valley Conference, which is being held at the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho from the 7th to the 11th (local time).

The Sun Valley Conference is a private event hosted by the U.S. investment bank Allen & Company. It brings together executives and investors from global IT and media companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI. The event is well known as a forum for discussions on strategic partnerships and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among companies.

It has been reported that key figures leading the AI industry—including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—are expected to attend this year.

Business circles anticipate that the AI semiconductor supply chain will be a key agenda item at this year’s event. This is because the competition to secure High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM), foundry capacity, advanced packaging, and data center infrastructure has intensified significantly due to the proliferation of AI services, thereby increasing the need for collaboration between global Big Tech companies and semiconductor firms.

As a comprehensive semiconductor company engaged in both HBM and foundry businesses, SamsungElectronics is expected to exchange a wide range of views with major clients at this event regarding the supply of next-generation AI memory, foundry orders, and advanced packaging collaborations. The industry is paying particular attention to the potential for expanded cooperation with companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, which are developing their own AI chips.

Chairman Lee has been attending the Sun Valley Conference since 2002, when he was a senior executive at SamsungElectronics, building a global business network. After suspending his attendance due to legal risks, he returned last year, and he plans to continue his global business activities by attending the event again this year.

While in custody in 2017, Chairman Lee drew attention when he stated in court, “Sun Valley is the busiest business trip of the year and the one I care about the most.”