0
President Lee Jae-myung, back from his tour of the U.S., South America, and Germany, greets Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik upon arrival at Seoul Airport in Seongnam on August 3. / Courtesy of Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung returned to South Korea via Seoul Airport on August 3 after completing a 7-night, 11-day trip to the U.S. and South America.

Departing for the U.S. on July 24, President Lee visited San Francisco, Brasilia and São Paulo in Brazil, Santiago in Chile, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and Frankfurt in Germany before returning home.

He was greeted at the airport by Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung, Democratic Party Acting Leader Han Byung-do, Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ihk-pyo, and Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jin-a.

During this tour, President Lee went all-out to lay the groundwork for South Korea to leap forward as a core country in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain.

In San Francisco, the birthplace of the AI industry, President Lee delivered the "San Francisco AI Declaration", asserting, "The Republic of Korea will become an indispensable core nation in the global AI supply chain and a global hub expanding the world AI market". Emphasizing "we are family" with global tech giants, he formed AI alliances to establish concrete investment and cooperation plans for the leap into an AI hub, while highlighting that this project is a global initiative between South Korea and Big Tech rather than a mere domestic policy.

In South America, President Lee strengthened cooperation on critical mineral supply chains—essential for leaping into an AI hub—with resource-rich nations Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, building foundational strength to become an AI powerhouse. Brazil holds the world's largest rare earth reserves, Chile ranks first in copper and lithium reserves, and Argentina has the world's second-largest shale gas reserves. By establishing full-lifecycle critical mineral cooperation and economic security partnerships with these nations, the South Korean government achieved results in diversifying and stabilizing its key mineral supply chains.

President Lee headed directly to the Blue House from Seoul Airport to hold a closed-door meeting regarding domestic pending issues, including real estate policy and the stock market.

                                                                                                            Hong Sun-mi