President Lee unveils 'San Francisco AI Declaration' in the U.S. ... "Korea is an indispensable key country in the AI supply chain"

[Financial News, San Francisco, U.S. = Reporter Choi Jong-geun]President Lee Jae-myung, who visited San Francisco, announced the 'San Francisco AI Declaration' at the 'San Francisco AI Summit' held there on the 24th local time. The declaration lays out South Korea's new vision for the AI era.
The event was attended by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. From the global big tech sector, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan also joined, drawing strong attention. The companies represented at the event have a combined value of more than 20 quadrillion won.
President Lee said, "Samsung Electronics entered the semiconductor industry later than others, but it grew into a company that leads the global memory chip market. SK hynix, which rose to the top of the global HBM market through fierce technological competition, was successfully listed on Nasdaq not long ago." He added, "In June, investments worth 4,700 trillion won were announced to drive a new leap forward for the Korean economy and the global AI industry. Today, we are presenting to the world an AI investment initiative prepared over a long period by leading Korean and global companies with a combined market value of more than 20 quadrillion won."
He first said, "South Korea will emerge as a key country in the indispensable global AI supply chain," adding, "Based on our world-class competitiveness and production capacity in memory semiconductors, we will become a trusted production base for AI chips and a supply-chain partner."
He continued, "To that end, South Korea announced a large-scale investment plan in June and is shifting to a multi-polar production hub system in which the capital region and regional areas together take responsibility for the world's semiconductor supply." He emphasized, "We will build a world-class AI hub that stably supplies the core infrastructure needed by the global AI ecosystem."
He also said, "South Korea will go beyond supply and become the country that uses AI the fastest and most effectively, creating a new market in which the world can grow together." He explained, "AI will go beyond laboratories and digital spaces to become a global AI testbed and production platform that actually operates across factories, cities and logistics sites."

He also expressed his ambition to make South Korea a global hub that expands the AI market. "We will not remain a country that merely uses AI. By building a horizontal cooperation network with various countries, we will create new AI markets and ensure that more people around the world can take part in the opportunities brought by AI innovation," he said. "Recently, the South Korean government has been promoting the Global AI Hub Initiative with international organizations under the vision of 'AI for All, AI to Solve Humanity's Challenges.'"
He added, "We will create an era in which AI develops in a more responsible and human-centered way, and its benefits become new opportunities for everyone." He noted, "South Korea implemented the Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence in January this year. We want to share with the world our efforts to ensure that safe and trustworthy AI can operate in industrial settings and in people's daily lives."
He also said South Korea aims to build an 'AI Basic Society' in which all citizens, including small and medium-sized businesses, small merchants and vulnerable groups, are not left behind and enjoy stronger protection of basic rights such as education and healthcare in the AI era.
President Lee emphasized, "Just as San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge connects the city and the world, I ask all of you who are leading the global AI industry to become bridges of cooperation that connect the world."
He also repeatedly referred to the popular U.S. sitcom 'Friends' and said, "South Korea will be your most reliable partner. Please join this bold challenge."

[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter