Shinsegae Chairman Attends Christmas Dinner Hosted by U.S. Vice President Vance

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin attended a Christmas dinner hosted by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at his residence on December 12, meeting with senior White House officials, the company said Saturday.

The event was attended by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Business leaders including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Palantir Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar also joined the gathering.

Prior to the dinner with Vice President Vance, Chairman Chung visited the White House to meet with Michael Kratsios, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, among others. Kratsios served as U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering during the first Trump administration, and now oversees the U.S. government's artificial intelligence strategy in the second Trump term. He is known as a key figure in the circle of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, having previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Thiel Capital.

During the meeting with Kratsios, Chairman Chung discussed cooperation on the U.S. AI export program. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the launch of the "America AI Exports Program" in October, pushing forward plans to export AI technology systems as a package worldwide. South Korea and the United States signed a "Technology Prosperity Deal" memorandum of understanding during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit week in October, expanding cooperation in AI including U.S. AI technology exports. Chairman Chung expressed interest in adopting advanced technologies to modernize retail operations during the meeting.

Christopher Buskirk, Chief Investment Officer of 1789 Capital and co-founder of Rockbridge Network with Vice President Vance, also attended the Christmas dinner. Buskirk is expected to visit Korea next month to meet with Rockbridge Network Korea members and officially join its board of directors.

Rockbridge Network was established in Korea following its launch in the United States, with operations being set up in Japan and Taiwan. Chairman Chung serves as Asia Regional Chairman of Rockbridge Network and sits on the board of Rockbridge Network Korea, which was officially launched as a think tank in October.

The board of Rockbridge Network Korea includes, in addition to Chairman Chung, former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Kim Hae-young, former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, former Minister of Strategy and Finance Park Jae-wan, Hanyang University President Kim Woo-seung, 1789 Partners CEO Park Byung-eun, and Fubon Group Chairman Richard Tsai of Taiwan.