San francisco: President Lee Jae Myung declared a vision Friday to make South Korea a trustworthy production base and supply partner for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, vowing to lead the country into a key global player in the AI supply chain.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the president made the remarks as he unveiled his "San Francisco AI Declaration" at a high-level meeting in the namesake city that brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang also attended the meeting.

"South Korea will make a leap forward to become an irreplaceable, core nation in the AI supply chain," Lee said. He emphasized the country's advanced competitiveness and production capacity in memory semiconductors, stating that South Korea will become a trustworthy AI chip production base and supply chain partner.

The declaration came as Seoul seeks to provide further momentum after growing global demand for semiconductors amid the AI boom has helped push South Korea into becoming one of the world's major chip supply hubs. 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.

Lee further stated that South Korea will establish a world-class AI hub to reliably supply the core infrastructure needed by the global AI ecosystem. He highlighted the country's role in creating a new market where the world can grow together by becoming not only a key supplier but also a nation that most effectively and swiftly utilizes AI.

Lee also pledged efforts to create new markets for the real-world application of AI technology, such as in manufacturing or logistics, and added that the country will seek to become a test bed for AI adoption. He assured that South Korea will become a responsible partner that shares the opportunities and benefits of AI with the world, fostering collective growth.

The South Korean president arrived in San Francisco earlier in the day as part of a five-nation trip that will later take him to three South American countries, including Chile and Argentina. He is set to depart Saturday for Brazil.