President Yoon Meets Zuckerberg... Discusses Korea AI Cooperation Plans

Call for Strengthening Advanced Technology Global Alliances

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is entering Meta Korea in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 28th to meet with representatives of domestic extended reality (XR) startups. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 29th, President Yoon Suk-yeol will meet with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to actively discuss ways to strengthen the global alliance in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This is part of a concrete effort to enhance cooperation in the AI sector, which the Korean government has identified as one of the three major game-changing technologies, and to secure a leading position in future industries.

At 10 a.m. on the same day, President Yoon will hold a private meeting with CEO Zuckerberg at the Yongsan Presidential Office, engaging in discussions on global trends and cooperation in advanced technologies. It is expected that a wide range of topics will be covered, including the establishment of a semiconductor alliance for AI semiconductor production, new AI platform businesses, and global collaboration.

In particular, President Yoon is known to have requested that Meta, which has officially entered the AI technology competition, actively seek ways to coexist and cooperate with Korean companies. Prior to meeting President Yoon, CEO Zuckerberg met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan, and representatives of startups in the AI and extended reality (XR) fields, emphasizing the importance of strengthening cooperation with domestic companies in future sectors to achieve a win-win outcome.

Before his meeting with Zuckerberg, President Yoon received briefings from his aides on the latest trends and issues in advanced technologies such as AI, and urged efforts to explore ways for Meta and Korean companies to further strengthen cooperation and investment in future technologies.

A presidential office official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "The meeting with CEO Zuckerberg is part of Meta’s efforts to strengthen global cooperation, involving visits to key partner countries such as Korea, Japan, and India," adding, "We understand that broad discussions will take place regarding advanced technology trends and cooperation with Korea."

CEO Zuckerberg’s visit to Korea is the first in about 10 years since June 2013. At that time, he met with then-President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The day before his visit to Korea, CEO Zuckerberg also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, exchanging views on AI and related fields.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.