[비즈한국] President Lee Jae-myung has unveiled a vision to develop the Republic of Korea into a production base for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and a global hub for technological verification. His plan involves leveraging Korea's competitiveness in memory semiconductors and manufacturing to leapfrog into a core nation in the global AI supply chain, while rapidly integrating foreign technological investments into domestic industries and the daily lives of citizens.
President Lee delivered the 'San Francisco AI Declaration,' which contains these objectives, at the 'San Francisco AI Summit' held at The Midway in San Francisco, USA, on the 24th (local time). The event was attended by approximately 150 people, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, as well as Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and Naver Board Chairman Lee Hae-jin.
President Lee assessed that the competition for AI has moved beyond the stage of developing superior software and algorithms. He explained that competitiveness is now determined by the capacity to secure computing resources, energy, data, and production facilities, and to rapidly apply them to industry and daily life. He stated, “The AI era is one where technology, production capabilities, data, energy, markets, and talent are connected through one massive supply chain.”
Based on this, President Lee presented four visions for Korea's AI industry. The plan is for Korea to emerge as a core nation in the global AI supply chain, create the world's fastest AI-adopting market, and become a hub that connects the global AI market. He also proposed a human-centered ‘AI Basic Society,’ which spreads the benefits of AI to the entire society, to the international community.
The first vision is the establishment of a supply chain that connects semiconductors, data centers, and physical AI. President Lee stated, “The Republic of Korea will leap into an irreplaceable core nation of the global AI supply chain,” and announced that he would make the country a reliable AI semiconductor production base and supply chain partner based on its competitiveness in memory semiconductors. He further stated that he would build a world-class AI hub by integrating data centers with physical AI, such as robots and autonomous driving.
This is an expansion of the ‘Three Major Mega-Projects for Korea’s Great Leap’ announced by the government last June to a global scale. The government plans to designate semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers as the three pillars of industrial advancement, and support infrastructure necessary for corporate investment, such as power, water, and site development. In his speech, President Lee introduced the total investment scale for the AI projects announced last month to be approximately 4,700 trillion won.
The second vision is to turn the Republic of Korea into a global AI verification stage. President Lee declared, “We will become a global AI testbed and production platform where artificial intelligence actually operates not just in laboratories or digital spaces, but in manufacturing plants, cities, and logistics sites everywhere.” The plan involves creating a virtuous cycle where AI is developed, verified, and applied to manufacturing, logistics, public services, and daily life, thereby enhancing AI performance and industrial productivity through accumulated data.
The government will also launch the ‘AI for All’ project, in which 50 million citizens will participate, starting at the end of this year. The plan is to create new demand by expanding the use of AI across all public services, including administration, welfare, and education. President Lee requested that global companies “choose the Republic of Korea as a stage for innovation and investment where technology and ideas can be realized most quickly.”
The third vision is to make Korea a cooperation hub that connects the global AI market. President Lee stated, “We will not remain a country that merely uses AI,” and announced that the government would expand cooperation between countries and companies to develop AI tailored to each nation's language, culture, and industrial environment. He also said that support for developing countries would shift toward investments that nurture local talent, ideas, services, and markets, adding that Korea would become “a responsible partner that grows while sharing the opportunities and benefits of AI with the entire world.”
The final vision is an ‘AI Basic Society’ that spreads the benefits of AI to the entire society. President Lee stated, “The future of AI cannot be completed with technological progress and economic achievements alone,” and announced that he would seek new distribution models, strengthen citizens' rights to education and healthcare, and ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), small business owners, and vulnerable groups are not left behind. The plan also includes securing safety and reliability based on the AI Basic Act, which was implemented in January this year.
Prior to the event, large-scale cooperation plans between domestic companies and Nvidia were also unveiled. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced during his meeting with President Lee that he would launch a business partnership with SK Group worth 500 billion dollars (732 trillion won). CEO Huang explained that Nvidia would cooperate with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics on chip and memory design, provide large-scale investment to Naver to support its domestic and international expansion, and also pursue the development of autonomous driving and robotics with Hyundai Motor, as well as power and home systems with LG.
At the end of his declaration, President Lee mentioned San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and urged global business leaders to become a bridge of cooperation that connects the world. He said, “The Republic of Korea will become a global AI production base and a soil for innovation, leaping into an irreplaceable global AI cooperation platform where the world’s technology, capital, talent, and ideas are connected.”