South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to Begin Five-Nation Tour With Silicon Valley AI Meetings

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to begin an 11-day, five-nation tour on July 24, 2026. During a two-day stop in San Francisco, he will hold separate meetings with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, attend the San Francisco AI Summit, and unveil the San Francisco AI Declaration. Leaders from Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Naver are expected to attend the summit. Lee will also meet executives from six venture capital firms and attend a memorandum-of-understanding ceremony involving South Korea's National Pension Service. He will then visit Brazil, Chile, and Argentina for summit talks focused on trade, investment, energy, food, and critical-mineral cooperation before stopping in Frankfurt to meet members of the Korean community and returning to Seoul on August 3.

Lee Silicon Valley meetings

• ▪South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will hold separate meetings in San Francisco with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan.
• ▪President Lee Jae-myung will meet with Silicon Valley tech executives on July 24 and July 25, 2026, to discuss artificial intelligence investment and global cooperation.

South Korea AI megaprojects

• ▪The presidential office said participants at the San Francisco AI Summit are expected to discuss South Korea's three megaprojects strategy for artificial intelligence development and broader cooperation in the global AI ecosystem.
• ▪The presidential office said the megaprojects initiative is aimed at establishing a semiconductor production cluster and artificial intelligence-related facilities.

San Francisco AI summit

• ▪President Lee Jae-myung will attend the San Francisco AI Summit to discuss South Korea's three national megaprojects and global technology partnerships.
• ▪President Lee Jae-myung will issue a 'San Francisco AI Declaration' outlining South Korea's vision to become a global leader and indispensable partner in the artificial intelligence ecosystem.

Korean conglomerate participation

• ▪Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung will attend the San Francisco AI Summit.
• ▪Naver founder and chair Lee Hae-jin will join President Lee Jae-myung and other South Korean conglomerate heads at the San Francisco AI Summit.

Venture capital firm outreach

• ▪The presidential office said President Lee will attend a ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between South Korea's National Pension Service and the venture capital firms to establish a long-term partnership.
• ▪During his two-day San Francisco visit on July 24 and July 25, 2026, President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to meet executives from six venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Sequoia Capital.

South America diplomatic tour

• ▪President Lee Jae-myung will conduct state visits to Brazil from July 26 to July 29, Chile from July 29 to July 30, and Argentina from July 30 to August 1, 2026.
• ▪National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said South Korea would seek to modernize its free trade agreement with Chile and expand cooperation with South American countries in energy, food, and critical minerals.
• ▪National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said South Korea would seek fresh negotiations on a trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc during the South American tour.