▲ President Lee Jae Myung (R) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung (L) pose for a photo during a meeting with South Korean residents in San Francisco on July 25, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Park Boram

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that the emergence of an artificial intelligence (AI) era offers a new opportunity for South Korea, vowing to turn the country from a follower into a global leader.

The president made the remarks at a meeting with South 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 South 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 South Korea," he also said, adding that he seeks to make South Korea "an irreplaceable country" and ensure that other countries think "nothing can be done without South 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 South Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, in a high-level event attended by Lee.

Such business partnerships would amount to US$950 billion, a presidential official said earlier.

"So far the country has pursued a strategy of learning from other countries and following them, but from now on, I want to make South Korea a leader that stays half a step ahead," the president said.

The president cited South Korea's democratization experience as one of the country's greatest strengths in leading the AI era.

"In a high-tech society, democracy itself serves as a core element of industrial and economic development," said Lee. citing reasonableness, objectivity, transparency and predictability as democratic values that help foster economic growth.

Lee also stressed that South Korea has transformed itself from a war-torn country into an economic powerhouse, noting that the global industry already cannot function without the country's semiconductor factories.

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