Shinsegae Chair Chung joins Trump’s Middle East tour
Jong-Seo Park and Jae-Kwang Ahn
9 HOURS AGO
Chung Yong-jin (left), chairman of Shinsegae, shakes hands with Donald Trump at a dinner with Qatar political leaders in Doha on May 14 Chung Yong-jin, chairman of South Korea’s retail group Shinsegae Inc., is the only Korean businessman accompanying US President Donald Trump on his Middle East trip this week, raising expectations that he could serve as a bridge between Seoul and Washington amid ongoing trade tensions with the US.
Chung attended a dinner banquet hosted by Qatar political leaders in Doha in honor of Trump, according to retail industry sources on Wednesday.
He was invited by the US president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. to join his father’s Middle East trip and is the only Korean businessmen among the delegates on the tour.
Qatar is the second leg of Trump’s tour to the region following Saudi Arabia in his first state visit to the Middle East since beginning his second term in the White House in January.
Chung is known to have close ties with Trump Jr. In December, he dined with then President-elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at the invitation by Trump Jr, becoming Korea's first tycoon to meet him after the US election.
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin (left) poses with Donald Trump Jr. (Source: Chung's Instagram) Invitation to the dinner between the top leaders of Qatar and the US is prestigious as it offers an opportunity to network and build relationships with investors from the Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump brought more than 30 leaders of top US companies to a lunch hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Saudi royal court in Riyad.
The list provided by the White House includes executives from big banks, AI companies, defense contractors and retail giants, according to a CNBC report. IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Palantir’s Alex Karp are among the executives who joined the lunch.
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
Chung’s participation in the tour could not come at a better time as Korean companies are keen to cash in on the rising global popularity of Korean content such as K-pop, drama series and films, fueled by the growth of over-the-top streaming platforms like Netflix Inc.
The Korean content boom is expected to drive the demand for Korean food and beauty products in the Middle East, mirroring the trend seen in the US, presenting a strong opportunity for the retail-focused Shinsegae.
Exports of Korean content like movies and music haven risen by $100 million over the past few years, leading to a $180 million increase of exports in Korean cosmetics and processed food during the same period, according to the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
Trump Jr. arrives at Gimpo Airport in Seoul on April 29, 2025 Chung has served as a key link between Trump administration and Korean business leaders amid the lack of formal diplomatic channels between Seoul and Washington following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster by the Constitutional Court last month.
In late April, Trump Jr. visited South Korea at the invitation of Chung and arranged private meetings with top business leaders across major Korean companies.
“With the South Korean government beset by political uncertainty, it would be meaningful for anyone to play a bridging role with US political circles,” said a retail industry official.
Chung has cemented a relationship with Trump Jr. since 2015, strengthened by their shared devotion to Protestant Christianity.