President Lee Jae-myung will begin a state visit to the U.S. and three South American countries on July 24 [1].
The trip signals South Korea's intent to solidify its position in the global artificial intelligence supply chain by securing direct investments from the world's most influential tech firms.
The itinerary spans seven nights and 11 days [1]. The first stop for the president will be San Francisco, California, where he will visit Silicon Valley [1]. During this leg of the journey, Lee is scheduled to meet with prominent AI industry leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman [1].
According to the presidential office, the visit aims to showcase South Korean AI capabilities and promote a national innovation agenda. The president intends to hold an AI summit to foster cooperation with global big-tech firms [1].
Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House policy chief, said the administration wants to emphasize South Korea's commitment to full-scale AI investment and global cooperation. Kim said the goal is to achieve practical results, such as investment and cooperation, from core companies in the global AI supply chain [1].
Following the meetings in the U.S., President Lee will travel to three nations in South America [1]. While the specific countries have not been named, the visit is part of a broader strategy to expand South Korea's technological and diplomatic footprint across the Western Hemisphere [1].
“The first stop for the president will be San Francisco, California, where he will visit Silicon Valley.”
This diplomatic push reflects South Korea's strategic urgency to avoid being sidelined in the AI race. By targeting both the hardware leadership of Nvidia and the software dominance of OpenAI, the administration is attempting to pivot the nation from a consumer of AI technology to a primary partner in its global infrastructure.
