President Moon Jae-in hosted the heads of South Korea's four largest conglomerates in a luncheon meeting on Wednesday, where he thanked them for their contributions that culminated in a successful South Korea-U.S. summit.

The invited business leaders were Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam. Kim attended in place of Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is currently jailed on corruption charges.  

Moon assessed that the Seoul-Washington alliance was strengthened after the countries agreed to supplement each other's supply chains in cutting-edge technologies and products, such as semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles(EV).

On the sidelines of the summit last month, the South Korean firms pledged to inject a combined 44 trillion won into their respective sectors in the U.S.

Characterizing the moment as an opportunity for the companies to further expand into the U.S. market, the president stressed that the investment in the country will also help create more jobs at home.

Meanwhile, the presidential office said that the business leaders suggested pardoning Lee, to which the president replied that he understands the challenges.