Lee says emergence of AI era offers Korea new opportunity

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that the emergence of an artificial intelligence (AI) era offers a new opportunity for Korea, vowing 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 between global tech giants and Korea.

"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.

The new AI era presents "a truly new opportunity for Korea," he also said, adding that he seeks to make Korea "an irreplaceable country" and ensure that other countries think "nothing can be done without Korea." His remarks come one day after a number of U.S.-based global tech giants, such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic, agreed to a series of business deals and partnership agreements with Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, in a high-level event attended by Lee.

Such business partnerships would amount to $950 bill ...