0
President Lee Jae-myung delivers the San Francisco AI Declaration at the San Francisco AI Summit held at The Midway in San Francisco, U.S., on the 24th (local time). /Yonhap

The blueprint for becoming a core country in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, presented by President Lee Jae-myung on the occasion of his visit to San Francisco, U.S., has entered a concrete execution phase.

After announcing the Three Major Mega Projects centered on semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI last month, President Lee visited Gwangju, Asan, and Jinju in succession, emphasizing his determination to foster them as core drivers for balanced regional development. Subsequently, by issuing the San Francisco AI Declaration in San Francisco, the home of the AI industry, and requesting cooperation from global big tech firms, he made it clear that the Three Major Mega Projects are a national project aimed at securing leadership in the global AI market beyond regional development.

President Lee's vision of a new nation centered on AI, which he emphasized at the San Francisco AI Summit on the 24th (local time), aligns with this vision. In the declaration, President Lee stated, "To leap forward as an irreplaceable core country in the global AI supply chain, the Republic of Korea announced a large-scale investment plan last June and is transitioning to a multipolar production hub system where the capital region and local provinces together take responsibility for the global semiconductor supply." Addressing the attending companies, he promised, "We will share the opportunities and benefits of AI with the whole world and become a responsible partner growing together."

The summit was attended by 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, alongside NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan. Around 230 figures, including business executives, researchers, startups, and investors, gathered, while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella participated virtually. The Blue House explained that the combined market capitalization of the attending companies approaches nearly 20 quadrillion won.

In a local briefing, Kim Yong-beom, Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy at the Blue House, evaluated, "This itinerary serves as an occasion to inform domestic and international audiences that the Three Major Mega Projects represent a massive global initiative jointly prepared by Korea, which possesses a strong semiconductor industry, and global big tech firms seeking strategic investment cooperation."

Evaluations suggest that achievements of the quadrillions of won worth Three Major Mega Projects have begun to materialize in earnest as Samsung Electronics and SK pursue a 1,400 trillion won long-term semiconductor supply cooperation on the occasion of this visit. Since the existing semiconductor supply volumes of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are secured for years ahead, additional volumes are highly likely to be produced at newly established fabs to be built in the future.

The high level of interest from global big tech firms and their trust in President Lee are also seen as green lights for the smooth sailing of the project. According to Senior Secretary Kim, CEO Sam Altman mentioned the Three Major Mega Projects several times during his meeting with President Lee. Regarding the establishment of AI data centers in Korea, big tech companies requested fast-tracking authorization and licensing procedures, to which President Lee reportedly replied, "I will naturally pay close attention to speed."

Evaluating President Lee's achievements over the past year, CEO Jensen Huang said, "It is no exaggeration to say that it is truly a golden age for the Republic of Korea."

                                                                                                              Hong Sun-mi