Saudi crown prince to meet Korean business leaders in Seoul

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is known to be planning meetings with leaders of major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Jay Y. Lee, in Seoul this week to court deals for the $500 billion signature Neom megacity project in the kingdom.

The de facto ruler is scheduled to come to Seoul on Thursday after attending the G-20 summit on the holiday island of Bali, Indonesia Nov. 15-16, according to industry sources in Seoul.

Prince Mohammad was reportedly scheduled to hold a group meeting with the leaders of South Korea’s top conglomerates including Samsung’s Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan.

They will discuss potential cooperation on the Neom project to build a new cross-border city extending from northwestern Saudi Arabia to cover 26,500 square kilometers (10,200 sq mi), and spanning 170 kilometers along the Red Sea coast. Samsung C&T Corp. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. are currently involved in the development plan.

The 37-year-old crown prince last visited Seoul in June 2019 when he met with Samsung’s Lee, SK’s Chey, Hyundai’s Chung, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

In September 2019 Lee again met with Prince Mohammed in Saudi Arabia to discuss possible collaboration in various fields such as the energy and construction sectors.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.