US Vice President JD Vance (left) and Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin pose for a photo at a dinner party held at the vice president’s official residence in Washington on Friday. (Shinsegae Group) Shinsegae Group Chair Chung Yong-jin met with US Vice President JD Vance and senior members of the Trump administration at a dinner, further broadening his ties with key US figures as Asia head of the Rockbridge Network, the group said Sunday.
The Rockbridge Network is a donor-backed political coalition closely aligned with President Trump, co-founded by JD Vance and Christopher Buskirk, chief investment officer of 1789 Capital.
After formally launching its Korean arm as a think tank in October, the Rockbridge Network is planning an expansion into Japan and Taiwan, with Chung serving as its Asia chair. His role as the network’s Asia head reflects a long-standing relationship with Donald Trump Jr.
The gathering Friday at the vice president’s official residence in Washington was attended by senior White House officials and business leaders, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar.
Ahead of the dinner, Chung met with Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and assistant to the president for science and technology, to discuss potential cooperation under the America AI Exports Program, an initiative launched by the Department of Commerce in October to export US AI systems overseas as an integrated package.
Chung displayed an interest in deploying advanced technologies to modernize retail operations, the group explained.
minmin@heraldcorp.com