Jensen Huang's "Trump China Lobbying" Lee Jae-myung's "Nationalization" Surge Fails to Prove US Democratic Party Opposition
At the US-China Summit in Busan on the 29th of last month, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang used his AI chief, Ha Jung-woo, to promote the "world's third-largest AI chip" as a way to "succeed in China's sales lobbying." He also mobilized the Korean media for a public party with conglomerate heads. However, due to pressure from the US Democratic Party, the company announced on the 2nd that it was "banned from providing this information outside the US."
President Lee Jae-myung explained to Jensen Huang the strategy of becoming the "world's third-largest AI powerhouse" for NVIDIA, a "joint venture" between the US private equity firm Blackrock and the South Korean government that relies on US investment and requires an intermediary to raise funds.
On the 4th, President Lee, in his budget request to the National Assembly, said about the "construction of an AI highway," "If you are one day late in the AI era, you will be left behind by a generation," and "We must catch up by accelerating to make up for our late start," adding, "We have allocated 10.1 trillion won to the great transformation to become one of the top three AI powerhouses."
Chief AI official Ha Jung-woo confirmed on the 3rd that there was no blueprint for the "construction of an AI highway," and the New York Times evaluated President Lee's "Sovereign AI" as "nationalizing AI."
Chris McGuire, a former State Department official in charge of technology control and development in the Biden administration (Democrat), told the New York Times on the 29th that the sale would "cede the greatest advantage the United States has in artificial intelligence." He added, "The Blackwell chip is probably the most sophisticated product ever made on Earth. It's a very powerful product, and giving it to China would be crazy."
When President Trump flew to South Korea on the 29th of last month to prepare for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he made several remarks that sounded alarm bells for US officials and Democratic lawmakers concerned about US-China competition.
The New York Times reported on the 29th that President Trump said of his meeting with Xi, "We're going to talk about Blackwell," and called Nvidia's cutting-edge AI chip a "super trick chip."
He praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, saying, "We are about 10 years ahead of anyone else in the chip industry." Soon after, Jensen Huang flew to Korea and held a public beer party at a Gangnam pub with Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun.
He then met with President Lee Jae-myung the next day and announced that "260,000 Blackwells would be provided to Korea," manipulating public opinion to "allow sales to China" leading up to the Trump-Xi Jinping summit. Through this, he mediated investment fundraising through Blackwell in the US under the Lee Jae-myung administration, and Korean stock prices soared.
Ha Jung-woo, Senior Vice President for AI Future Planning at the Blue House, told JTBC on the 3rd, "From NVIDIA's perspective, they're providing first, and the rest of the world is doing the same thing." He added, "So, even if you pay for it, it's extremely difficult. But NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang came in and said he would supply 260,000 units to Korea by 2030." He described the structure as NVIDIA's "A" and the Korean government's "B".
Ha continued, "The contract is until 2030, and because it's a priority supply, it could be extended even further." He added, "The government isn't obligated to purchase all of these GPUs. The government is supplying 50,000 units. The other four companies we met with—Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and Naver—actually, not all of them, but there are other companies as well. Each company has promised to supply around 50,000 or 60,000 units."
Chief Ha said about the quantity, “We talked about that during the private meeting, and when I saw CEO Jensen Huang mention that the US has secured around 20 million, it seems that rather than the 20 million currently released, it will be around that amount when considering the quantity that can be produced until around 2030, etc.”
He confirmed that it was ‘sold to China’ by saying, “China has a huge quantity, and it can be secured through various channels, so if you exclude these two countries (the US and China), Korea will be third in the world in terms of secured quantity.” Chief Ha specifically addressed Korea's estimates and NVIDIA's production and sales plans, stating, "It's difficult to accurately estimate the number of GPUs secured in Korea when all the various factors are factored in." He continued, "Some within NVIDIA say around 40,000 units, and Jensen Huang from NVIDIA stated at the CEO Summit after the meeting that the number is around 60,000 units." He continued, "While it varies slightly depending on which products are included, if you add the 260,000 units to that number, it would exceed 300,000 units."
He specifically stated, "The UK recently boasted that they would secure 120,000 units, and this is more than double that, and the additional amount coming in alone," and declared that NVIDIA was "giving Korea a special treatment" by "concentrating a huge amount of GPUs in Korea."
He concluded, "By these standards, at least in terms of highways soon to be laid, Korea has secured the most infrastructure, excluding the US and China." The Trump administration announced a "ban on providing infrastructure outside the US."
On the 31st, after the conclusion of the US-China summit, President Lee told CEO Jensen Huang, "South Korea's goal is to become the 'AI capital' of the Asia-Pacific region. Recently, global companies like BlackRock (US private equity fund) OpenAI have agreed to join a project to develop Korea into an AI hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
We hope NVIDIA will also participate and work together to create an AI ecosystem where infrastructure, technology, and investment virtuously cycle," announcing the investment of US private equity funds.
President Lee's remarks were attended by Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Choi Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. President Trump did not mention "selling to China" during the US-China summit. He then told reporters aboard Air Force One and CBS's "60 Minutes"
on the 1st that only American customers should have access to NVIDIA's top-of-the-line Blackwell chips. He added that "the most advanced countries will ensure that no one outside the United States has them." He also repeatedly told reporters, "We're not giving the (Blackwell) chips to anyone else."
The New York Times reported that Jensen Huang held a separate press conference with APEC in South Korea on the 31st of last month to announce the "failure of selling to China." Huang stated, "I gained no new insights from this meeting," and added, "I hope that China will welcome NVIDIA's return with a new policy that allows NVIDIA to return to China."
Hwang then mobilized the Korean media for a beer party with Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun, and met with President Lee Jae-myung the next day. The New York Times reported that “Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reiterated on the 31st that the Silicon Valley chip giant is eager to resume selling advanced semiconductors in China, but expressed uncertainty about whether this week’s meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping brought the company any closer to achieving that goal.”
Huang arrived in South Korea shortly after the two leaders’ face-to-face summit on the 30th, and President Trump told reporters that the two leaders discussed semiconductors without mentioning Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI technology. He added that Chinese officials would talk to Nvidia about “taking chips” and that the United States would serve as a “referee.” The New York Times reported that the remarks caused confusion because Trump had previously suggested discussing Nvidia's most powerful AI chips with Xi before the meeting, fueling speculation that the United States might ease restrictions on access to the technology.
Huang, in a separate press conference on the 31st, said, "I didn't gain any new insights from this meeting. I hope China will welcome Nvidia's return with a new policy that allows Nvidia to return to China."
Huang said at the press conference that Nvidia's China business, which once accounted for nearly the entire market share, is now "zero."
He echoed his previously announced arguments for allowing Nvidia to sell its chips in China, displaying a sense of urgency.
He specifically suggested that some of the U.S. national security concerns were overblown because the Chinese military doesn't need Nvidia's chips to develop AI technology. Ahead of the US-China summit, Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo issued a statement on the 29th, saying, "China has ample domestic chips for all military applications and has no reason to use our products for that purpose." He added, "We support the Trump administration's vision to secure and promote American leadership and jobs. We will not demand that the United States retreat and surrender industrial leadership to foreign competitors for the sake of national security."
The New York Times specifically reported, "Since arriving in South Korea, Hwang has been on a relentless charm offensive. On the 29th, he spent the night in Seoul with two prominent businessmen, Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Chairman Chung Eui-sun. He was approached with paparazzi-like fanfare, and a throng of reporters filmed him eating fried chicken and drinking beer at a restaurant."
The New York Times continued, “In his much-anticipated speech on the 31st, Mr. Hwang ditched his trademark black leather jacket for a navy suit.” He added, “Nvidia then announced that South Korea and a handful of major corporations, including Samsung and Hyundai Motor, have agreed to purchase more than 250,000 specialized computing chips to advance their efforts in developing artificial intelligence technology.
Thus, the NYTs reported, "Hwang's public relations is taking over South Korea."
The Nvidia chips will not only be used in next-generation data centers but also to advance South Korea’s efforts to build so-called sovereign AI, a “nationalized effort” that would allow local companies and institutions that cannot afford to build their own infrastructure to use the groundbreaking technology.”
They referred to these chips as the "nationalization of Korean AI chips" as a result of Hwang's strategic public relations system.
On the 4th, President Lee announced at the National Assembly that he had allocated 10.1 trillion won to the transformation into one of the top three AI powers, saying, "Now is the time to build highways for the AI era and open a future of leap forward and growth."
President Lee continued, "Over the next five years, we will invest 6 trillion won in AI transformation, focusing on key industries such as robotics, automobiles, shipbuilding, home appliances, and semiconductors. We will foster the defense industry as a key manufacturing sector in the AI era."
See <Trump Blackwell Chip ‘Ban Outside the U.S.,’ Jensen Huang ‘Fails to Ship 260,000 to South Korea,’ Korean Media ‘Ban on China,’ November 3, 2025>