Lee pledges to double chip output in 5 yrs, build AI supply chains free of disruption
President Lee Jae Myung, right, speaks alongside Warburg Pincus Chairman Timothy Geithner, left, and BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink at the Korea Investment Summit at a hotel in New York, Wednesday. Yonhap
NEW YORK — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to double his country's semiconductor production capacity and secure artificial intelligence (AI) supply chains free from external shocks, calling for fresh U.S. investments in the country.
Lee made the remarks at the Korea Investment Summit in New York, attended by financial and corporate leaders from both South Korea and the United States, to promote U.S. investment in South Korea.
The president referred to the country's "three megaprojects" launched earlier this year to build a chip projection cluster and other AI facilities, adding that the country "will double semiconductor production capabilities within the next five years by expanding a chip production hub."
"Additionally, (we) will build critical AI supply chains that are not shaken by any shocks," he said.
The president highlighted that Seoul is reinvesting "results" from the AI chip boom to create a new "Future Fund" designed to nurture related industrial infrastructure and talent to ensure stable support for future industries.
He also pledged to create market conditions favorable to global capital investment and carry out market reforms to attract foreign investment, pointing to the government's legal revisions to enhance shareholder value and expand the foreign exchange market to operate around the clock.
"We will double down on efforts to create market conditions in which global capital can invest freely and at any time," Lee said.
"Going forward, I will work to ensure more improvements take place," he added. "I guarantee that I will spearhead changes that can be felt by global investors by continuously reforming the capital and foreign currency markets."
Recalling his summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump the previous day, the South Korean president said he and Trump discussed cooperation in shipbuilding, especially the construction of U.S. military vessels.
"I expect that more tangible results may be generated in the future," he told the rare investor relations event.
The president described South Korea and the U.S. as "key partners" who support each other in industry, the economy and security, voicing hope that this cooperation will go beyond promoting prosperity and contribute to bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.
"South Korea will advance as the most trustworthy partner that the world needs," he said, calling for investment in South Korea.