Lee pitches aircraft, minerals and K-Beauty to power Korea-Brazil growth

President Lee Jae Myung called on South Korean and Brazilian businesses Tuesday to capitalize on their complementary strengths, identifying next-generation commercial aircraft, critical minerals and K-beauty as potential engines of growth. Lee outlined his vision for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries at a business roundtable in Sao Paulo, a day after holding summit talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. “As global uncertainty grows, it is more i

2026-07-29 07:26:21:00

Lee and Lula revive bid for Korea-Mercosur pact, bolster defense ties

South Korea and Brazil opened the way Monday to reviving stalled trade talks between Seoul and the South American bloc Mercosur, forming a bilateral working group with an eye toward a formal restart in December, Cheong Wa Dae said. At their summit in Brasilia, President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also pledged to broaden trade and economic cooperation in strategic sectors including aerospace, critical minerals and defense. The announcements followed a 140-minu

2026-07-28 07:20:36:00

Lee eyes wider reach in Latin America as global order shifts

President Lee Jae Myung cast Latin America as essential to South Korea’s push to broaden its diplomatic reach and diversify supply chains amid a rapid reshaping of the global order, as he opened his first tour of the region. Speaking from Brasilia, the first stop on an itinerary that will also take him to Chile and Argentina, Lee underscored the continent’s strategic importance to South Korea while presiding over a virtual meeting with senior secretaries and aides on Sunday. “At a time when the

2026-07-27 15:25:23:00

Lee calls Latin America key to Korea’s diplomatic reach in shifting world order

President Lee Jae Myung pledged to strengthen South Korea’s diplomacy with the Global South, calling Latin America essential to broadening the country’s diplomatic horizons amid a rapidly shifting international order. Lee began his first tour of Latin America, which will also take him to Chile and Argentina, by presiding over a virtual meeting with senior secretaries and aides from Brasilia, the first stop on his itinerary, on Sunday. “At a time when the international order is being rapidly resh

2026-07-27 11:27:02:00

Korea, US tech giants set sights on $950 billion in chip partnerships: Seoul

South Korean and US technology giants agreed to pursue $950 billion in semiconductor supply and manufacturing partnerships over the next five years, unveiling a sweeping series of deals at the San Francisco AI Summit. The partnerships, announced during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to San Francisco, are intended to advance the Lee administration’s flagship megaprojects across semiconductors, AI data centers and physical AI. “We have developed concrete investment and cooperation plans with glob

2026-07-25 14:12:38:00

‘We are family’: Lee toasts AI ties with tech titans over fish and chips

President Lee Jae Myung dined with the leaders of some of the world’s most valuable technology companies Friday evening at a casual San Francisco restaurant popular with local residents and AI researchers. The gathering at The Ramp restaurant brought together Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan, and Lani Borkar, president of Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure at Microsoft. The summit also brought together some of South Korea’s most prominent industrial and technol

2026-07-25 12:00:51:00

Nvidia, SK to announce $500 billion partnership, Jensen Huang says

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the AI chip giant and South Korea’s SK Group would unveil business partnerships worth more than $500 billion. “The SK Group and I are announcing today that our two companies will enter into business partnerships that will represent over $500 billion of business together,” Huang said during a one-on-one meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in San Francisco. Huang didn’t provide details on how the figure was calculated or over what period the p

2026-07-25 11:10:41:00

Lee’s San Francisco declaration casts Korea as hub for building, using and sharing AI

President Lee Jae Myung unveiled the San Francisco Declaration on AI, laying claim to an indispensable role for South Korea in the global AI economy. His vision casts Korea as a place where AI is built and supplied, swiftly put to work and carried into new markets — with responsible, human-centered development turning its gains into opportunity for all. “From now on, the Republic of Korea will chart a vision for the future of AI, work with the world and help build a better future for humanity,”

2026-07-25 10:16:26:00

Lee calls on Anthropic CEO to scale up AI investment in Korea

President Lee Jae Myung called on Anthropic to significantly expand its investment in and cooperation with South Korean companies, pitching the country as an ideal Asian hub for the AI company’s infrastructure, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Lee made the call Friday during a meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in San Francisco, his first official engagement after arriving in the city. The meeting was also the first in a series of one-on-one talks with global technology executives seeking strate

2026-07-25 08:07:28:00

Lee's packed schedule means no summer break

President Lee Jae Myung will be skipping his summer vacation this year. Instead, his calendar will be filled with a trip to the US and South America, followed by another round of government policy briefings back in South Korea, the presidential office said Friday. Lee embarked Friday on an 11-day trip that will take him to San Francisco, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. He will resume official duties after returning to Seoul, including receiving briefings from government ministries. “Presidents gen

2026-07-24 15:40:44:00