President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that the emergence of an artificial intelligence era offers a new opportunity for Korea. He vowed to turn the country from a follower into a global leader.
The president made the remarks at a meeting with Korean residents in San Francisco on the second day of his two-day visit aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation.
"Just as humanity's discovery of fire ushered in new history, a new era is coming in which we cannot live without AI," the president said. He added that he seeks to make Korea "an irreplaceable country."
One day earlier, U.S. tech giants including Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic agreed to business deals with Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix worth $950 billion. Lee cited Korea's democratization experience as a strength and noted the global importance of its semiconductor factories.
