From left, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

By Kim Hyun-bin

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been invited to speak at the National Assembly during his stay in Korea on Aug. 15-17, but all eyes are on whether he will meet with key business leaders during his visit, according to industry officials, Wednesday.

Gates will visit the Assembly at 10 a.m. on Aug. 16 and meet with Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. At 10:40 a.m., he will give a speech on the topic of "The importance of international cooperation and Korea's leadership for coping with and preparing for COVID-19 and future infectious diseases" at the plenary session of the Special Committee on Budget and Settlement of the National Assembly.

This is Gates's first visit to the National Assembly since 2013. Back then, he gave a lecture on the topic of "Smart Aid: Innovation for a Better World and a Stronger Korea" at the National Assembly at the invitation of then-Saenuri Party (currently known as the People Power Party) member Chung Mong-joon.

Afterward, Gates met up with key businesspeople during his past visits to Korea and all eyes are on whom he will meet this time around.

"Whenever Bill Gates visited Korea (in the past), he met with key business people and had meaningful conversations, so this time will be no different. It is highly likely that he will meet with them during his upcoming visit," an industry official said.

In 2013, then-Chairman of Microsoft Gates met with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-Yong at the Samsung Electronics office building in Seoul and had dinner for about two and a half hours, where the two exchanged opinions on IT issues.

There is a possibility Gates will meet with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. In May, Chairman Chey signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tera Power, a next-generation small module reactor design company established in 2008 by Gates, and began cooperation on the development and commercialization of joint technologies.

During Chairman Chey's visit to the U.S. last month, there were expectations that he was to meet with Gates, but a meeting did not occur.

"Any major company chiefs would want to meet key business leaders like Bill Gates. I believe major corporations are trying to schedule meetings with Gates during his visit to Korea," another industry official said.