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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Expands South Korea Charm Offensive as AI Ties Deepen

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is strengthening the company’s relationship with South Korea through a highly visible public campaign that extends beyond boardrooms and semiconductor factories to television appearances and cultural events, reflecting the country’s growing strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence ecosystem.

During his second visit to South Korea in less than a year, Huang is expected to meet executives from leading technology companies while also appearing on a popular television talk show and throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a professional baseball game. The unusual public engagement underscores Nvidia’s intention to deepen both business partnerships and public recognition in one of its most critical supply-chain markets.

South Korea occupies a central role in Nvidia’s AI strategy. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together supply the majority of the advanced memory chips required for Nvidia’s AI accelerators, while the country’s strengths in manufacturing, robotics, and industrial automation make it an attractive partner for the emerging era of physical AI, where artificial intelligence is embedded directly into factories, vehicles, and robots.

The relationship has become even more significant as geopolitical tensions and export restrictions have reshaped global semiconductor supply chains. With advanced chip sales to China facing increasing limitations, South Korea has emerged as an essential production, development, and deployment hub for next-generation AI infrastructure.

Nvidia is also expanding its footprint as a customer within the country, supplying hundreds of thousands of advanced AI processors to government initiatives and major corporations as South Korea pursues an ambitious national strategy to become one of the world’s leading AI powers.

Beyond semiconductors, Huang has highlighted robotics as an important area for future collaboration, suggesting that South Korea’s industrial capabilities and demographic challenges create an ideal environment for AI-powered automation solutions.

The visit demonstrates that Nvidia’s competitive advantage increasingly depends not only on technological leadership but also on cultivating deep strategic alliances across the broader AI value chain, with South Korea emerging as one of its most important global partners.

Bithumb Blames System Flaws for $40 Billion Bitcoin Error

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South Korea’s crypto exchange Bithumb said serious internal system flaws allowed an erroneous transfer of more than $40 billion in bitcoin during a promotional event last week, prompting regulatory scrutiny and market volatility. The exchange accidentally distributed about 620,000 bitcoins to customers instead of 620,000 won ($426), triggering a sharp 17% drop in bitcoin prices on its platform.

Chief Executive Lee Jae-won told lawmakers the error was exacerbated by a roughly 24-hour processing lag that delayed balance updates. The mistaken transfer amounted to roughly 15 times the exchange’s bitcoin holdings. Internal safeguards—including checks comparing transfer volumes with actual reserves—failed, and the assets were not earmarked in a separate account to ensure transaction safety.

Most of the bitcoins have since been recovered, though regulators said 1,786 coins were sold before accounts were frozen. Authorities stated that customers who sold the mistakenly credited assets are legally required to return them. The incident has sparked criticism in parliament over oversight failures in one of the world’s most active crypto markets.

The head of the Financial Supervisory Service said the episode underscores the need for stronger regulatory frameworks, adding that virtual asset platforms should ideally face oversight similar to banks, though current laws do not yet provide that authority.

OpenAI, Samsung SDS and SK Telecom to Begin Korea Data Center Build

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OpenAI, Samsung SDS, and SK Telecom are preparing to begin construction of artificial intelligence data centers in South Korea as early as March, according to Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon.

The South Korean government previously said the U.S. startup would form joint ventures with the two Korean firms to develop two facilities with an initial combined capacity of 20 megawatts. The planned infrastructure is intended to support AI model training and deployment, reinforcing South Korea’s role in the global AI supply chain.

SK Telecom confirmed it is in discussions with OpenAI regarding a data center project in the country’s southwest, though the exact timeline for construction remains under review. The collaboration reflects increasing partnerships between U.S. AI developers and Asian technology firms to expand computing capacity amid surging demand.

The initiative comes as major AI companies race to secure power, land, and advanced hardware to support rapidly scaling models. South Korea’s strong semiconductor ecosystem and digital infrastructure make it an attractive base for AI expansion, particularly as governments compete to host next-generation data facilities.