Lee Unveils 'San Francisco AI Declaration' to Make South Korea a Global AI Supply Chain Hub
President Lee Jae Myung has declared a vision to make South Korea a trustworthy production base and supply partner for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, vowing to position the country as a key global player in the AI supply chain, according to Yonhap News.
The declaration, dubbed the "San Francisco AI Declaration," was unveiled during a high-level meeting in San Francisco that brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also attended, as reported by Yonhap.
"South Korea will make a leap forward to become an irreplaceable, core nation in the AI supply chain," Lee said, according to Yonhap. "Based on the world's highest-level competitiveness and production capacity in memory semiconductors we have, (South Korea) will become a trustworthy AI chip production base and supply chain partner."
The declaration comes as Seoul seeks to build on growing global demand for semiconductors amid the AI boom, which has helped South Korea become one of the world's major chip supply hubs, Yonhap reported.
$950 Billion in Cooperation Projects
At the meeting, South Korean conglomerates and global tech giants, including Nvidia, agreed to pursue a series of cooperation projects worth a combined US$950 billion, a senior presidential official said, according to Yonhap. The projects include a long-term deal under which SK Group will supply $750 billion worth of high-performance semiconductors to global tech firms, including Nvidia, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom said at a press briefing, as reported by Yonhap.
South Korean firms and global tech companies also agreed to pursue joint investment in large-scale AI data centers with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts and 2 million graphics processing units (GPUs), Kim said, according to Yonhap. Additionally, South Korea's internet portal Naver will establish global AI factories worth $10 billion through a strategic investment agreement with Nvidia and an infrastructure supply deal with Brookfield Corp., a Canadian investment management firm, Yonhap reported.
Government Megaprojects and AI Data Center Alliance
Last month, South Korea announced three megaprojects involving major investments totaling over 4,000 trillion won (US$2.73 trillion) in a semiconductor production cluster, physical AI, and AI data centers, according to Yonhap. The science ministry later launched a public-private alliance aimed at promoting cooperation for the establishment of massive AI data centers, as part of efforts to carry through on the megaprojects initiative, which includes the construction of an 18.4-gigawatt AI data center, Yonhap reported.
The platform will support the entire value chain of AI data centers, from cloud technology, energy supply, and cooling solutions to regulatory efforts, and will include a special task force to devise strategies for exporting South Korea's AI data center technologies to major countries such as the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said, according to Yonhap. A launch ceremony was held in central Seoul and attended by about 400 participants from private companies, the government, and academia.
AMD MOU and AI Ecosystem Cooperation
South Korea's science ministry and U.S. chip giant AMD Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in establishing an open-weight AI ecosystem, the science ministry said, according to Yonhap. The deal, made on the sidelines of President Lee's visit to San Francisco, comes amid a shift in the competitive landscape for global AI infrastructure, the ministry said.
Following the MOU, the two sides will work to build and demonstrate a heterogeneous AI computing infrastructure that combines AMD's CPUs and GPUs with domestically produced neural processing units (NPUs), according to Yonhap. AMD also plans to establish an "AI Center of Excellence" in South Korea to serve as a hub for technical collaboration among local companies, universities, and research labs. The two sides will also collaborate on nurturing AI talent and joint research in next-generation AI technologies, including physical AI, the ministry added, as reported by Yonhap.
Lee Calls AI Era a 'Decisive Opportunity'
Separately, President Lee said that better utilizing South Korea's strengths could make the nation a global leader rather than a follower in the rapidly evolving AI era, according to Yonhap. Lee made the remarks while receiving briefings from the science ministry and other government agencies on the progress of their policy initiatives.
"The world is undergoing a civilization-level transformation driven by AI. I think it is tantamount to humankind's discovery of fire or the invention of the steam locomotive or electricity," Lee said, as quoted by Yonhap. "If we make the best use of our strengths and address our weaknesses, we could become a leading player rather than a follower," he added, calling the AI era "a decisive opportunity" for South Korea.
Lee also stressed that the government's tightening of personal information protection rules is not aimed at any particular company, amid continued complaints from Washington over Seoul's investigation into a massive data leak, according to Yonhap. "This is clearly a position the South Korean government is taking based on the law and policy, rather than with any company in mind," Lee said, without elaborating further.