President Lee Jae-myung, who is visiting San Francisco, said on the 25th that "in the new era of artificial intelligence (AI), I believe a genuine new opportunity has come to the Republic of Korea."
Lee made the remarks at a luncheon meeting with Korean expatriates held at a hotel in downtown San Francisco that day, saying, "An era will come when we cannot live without AI." At the gathering, attended by about 200 expatriates, Lee said, "My goal is to make the Republic of Korea an irreplaceable country." He added, "Until now, we have pursued a strategy of chasing and following other countries, but from now on I truly want to build a Republic of Korea that becomes a leader, half a step ahead."
Regarding the standing and market share that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix hold in the AI chip market, Lee said, "The situation in which the global industry cannot function without these two companies has completely changed the impression of the Republic of Korea." He continued, "It will become a society in which artificial intelligence affects the real world and becomes its center, and my view is that we must prepare for this in advance at the national level." He added that "(for the Republic of Korea to become a leader) has actually become possible."
Lee also mentioned the "Yoon Suk-yeol martial law incident," saying, "Didn't we peacefully and quite beautifully fight and overcome even a praetorian military coup, without force or bloodshed? It was probably a great peaceful revolution unmatched in world history." Lee said, "When the Republic of Korea's situation was one worthy of respect, you (expatriates) would also have been respected, and when the Republic of Korea's situation was in turmoil, you probably suffered many hardships too." He added, "Those disruptions have now largely been overcome."
Lee then stressed that Korea's standing has risen considerably over the years. He said, "(When I meet other heads of state,) advanced countries ask to build semiconductor factories in their countries, and middle-income countries ask for air-defense systems such as defense missile systems. Many heads of state also talk about K-pop."
Lee said, "In the past, the mention of the Republic of Korea would bring to mind scenes of children who had lost their parents wandering the streets amid war, but now the global industry cannot function without (Korea's) semiconductor factories. It has completely changed the impression of Korea." He continued, "I believe we can start anew. What I hear from the people I meet abroad is similar. They say they wish they could be proud of their homeland, and now that must indeed come true."
Lee said it was "most heartbreaking" that some are unable to take part in voting because they are abroad, and he added that he would seek systematic improvements to the voting system.
