SEOUL — South Korea’s tech sector is closely watching developments surrounding NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang following recent scrutiny over his external ties. Despite international questions regarding the chief executive, major South Korean partners, including web portal giant Naver and telecom leader SK Telecom, confirm that their strategic AI initiatives remain firmly on track.

The situation unfolded as NVIDIA completed a major financial transaction in South Korea just before media reports raised questions concerning executive associations. Last week, NVIDIA finalized a capital infusion of approximately 1.34 trillion KRW (about $980 million) into Naver under a stock subscription agreement. Consequently, NVIDIA is set to acquire a 4.13% stake in Naver, making it the firm's third-largest shareholder following the upcoming share listing later this month.

Commitments Remain Firm Amid Governance Questions

Internationally, NVIDIA's board of directors announced an independent review into recent reports involving CEO Jensen Huang, while noting that he will maintain his executive responsibilities during the process. U.S. lawmakers have also signaled interest in reviewing communication procedures and compliance protocols, scheduling a closed-door briefing later this month.

Despite these external developments, industry analysts emphasize that the foundational business logic driving the NVIDIA-Naver alliance is structural rather than personal. Naver representatives reiterated that their joint AI factory roadmap faces no immediate disruptions, pointing out that capital transfers are already finalized.

Naver is currently preparing to roll out its initial AI factory services at a 55-megawatt capacity in the first half of next year, with aggressive long-term goals to expand toward a 1-gigawatt infrastructure by 2028. The initiative relies heavily on deploying NVIDIA’s advanced architectures, including the Blackwell and upcoming Vera Rubin platforms.

Broader Ecosystem Collaboration Moves Forward

At the same time, South Korea’s broader artificial intelligence ecosystem continues to expand integrations. During a recent industry event in Seoul, SK Telecom, NVIDIA, and domestic semiconductor startup Rebellions formalized a three-way Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under this framework, SK Telecom intends to combine NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) with Rebellions Neural Processing Units (NPUs) within next-generation AI data centers as originally planned.

While future expansions—such as scaling data center capacity internationally and securing massive subsequent shipments of next-generation chips—will require ongoing coordination with NVIDIA's leadership, market experts believe the core partnerships are securely anchored.

"NVIDIA's strategic investments in the Asian market were driven by long-term regional demand and structural alignment rather than executive friendships," an industry strategist noted. "Even with potential shifts in corporate leadership, the foundational framework of these tech alliances is built to endure."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]