'Three Billionaires, One Chicken Joint': Nvidia, Samsung and Hyundai Chiefs Make Unlikely Stop
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, stopped at Kkanbu Chicken before attending the APEC summit
Three billionaires surprised diners at a popular Seoul fried chicken restaurant on Thursday by covering everyone's bill.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics; and Chung Eui-sun, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, stopped at Kkanbu Chicken before attending the APEC summit in Gyeongju. Kkanbu Chicken is famed for its soju, the Korean combination of fried chicken and beer.
Huang, streamed live, said, "I love fried chicken and beer with my friends, so Kkanbu is a perfect place, right?" The restaurant’s name means "close friend" in Korean slang.
The trio enjoyed cheese balls, cheese sticks, boneless chicken, and fried chicken alongside Terra beer and soju, a traditional Korean rice spirit. Local media captured them joining in a traditional Korean drinking gesture to celebrate friendship.
They shared food with bystanders as Huang invited, "The chicken wings were so good. Have you been here before? It's incredible, right?" He then rang the restaurant’s "golden bell", signalling he would pay the bill.
According to an X user, Huang had a blast at the restaurant, stood up and said cheers to everyone inside it and said, 'Your dinner bills are on me tonight.' Enjoy all the chicken and beer!' And he ordered extra chicken and handed it to people on the street waiting hours to take a picture of him. What a guy!
Yonhap News Agency reported that Samsung’s Lee ultimately paid the tab, while Hyundai’s Chung bought a second round.
This informal dinner took place amid the APEC summit, which sees leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea. Advanced AI chips, like those from Nvidia valued at nearly $5 trillion, remain a critical issue in US-China trade talks.
On Friday, Huang met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and announced Nvidia’s plan to supply over 260,000 GPUs to South Korean firms, including Samsung, Hyundai, Naver, and SK. These partnerships will support development in "physical AI" technologies, combining AI with real-world applications like autonomous vehicles.
