President Lee Jae Myung, during his San Francisco visit, announced the San Francisco AI Declaration on July 24, 2026 saying, The Republic of Korea will play a major role in becoming the indispensable global AI supply chain hub. He added that they will indeed become a trusted AI semiconductor production base and supply chain partner by virtue of their world-class memory semiconductor competitiveness as well as production capabilities.
The president said this during the ‘San Francisco AI Summit’ held at a hotel in San Francisco.
President Lee stressed that with the semiconductor technological superiority and massive production capacity of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, they will see to it that global businesses can build AI infrastructure in a stable manner and maintain innovation in technology in any environment. This is an effort to stabilize the supply chain at the national level so as to maintain semiconductor production in an emergency and an appropriate investment by the Republic of Korea to avert global semiconductor shortages,” he stated, referring to the ‘Three Mega Projects’ with an estimated value of 4,700 trillion Korean won announced in June 2026.
President Lee further said that they will become a global AI supply chain hub where more people from different nations are able to engage in AI innovation opportunities, and with the steady supply of fundamental infrastructure required by the global AI ecosystem, they are going to build a world-class AI hub.
In addition to supply, the Republic of Korea will be a nation that employs AI the fastest and most effectively to create new markets for global expansion. AI will move beyond the research labs and online environments to evolve into a global AI testbed as well as a production platform in which it is operating in manufacturing plants and cities as well as logistics sites, the president remarked.
President Lee also proposed AI Basic Society, in which no particular country or social class is cut off from AI technology and all people will have new possibilities. In the AI era, the Republic of Korea will offer all citizens better assurances of basic rights like education and healthcare and establish a society where no one, notably small businesses and self-employed people, as well as vulnerable groups, will be marginalized, he said. They are going to call it an AI Basic Society.
President Lee declared the launch of the AI for All project, which will include 50 million citizens, by the end of 2026. He wants to build the world’s most dynamic AI market through active application of AI to public services of everyday life, administration, education, and welfare.
President Lee quoted the lyrics from the American sitcom Friends in his speech – I’ll be there for you. Cause you’re there for me too, which was widely used in the United States and also well known in Korea.
One must together create a future for AI that is beneficial to us all,” he added.
More than 150 people attended the summit, which included top global digital tech CEOs like Jensen Huang of NVIDIA as well as Sam Altman of OpenAI, leaders of South Korean conglomerates comprising SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun as well as Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin, as well as AI industry experts and investors.
Before going to the summit, President Lee engaged in bilateral talks with these globally recognized big-tech CEOs. He said that they aim to inform the world of large-scale AI investment plans prepared over an extended period by South Korean and global leading companies, with an overall corporate value exceeding 20 quadrillion won, he said in the AI declaration.
