South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Seoul on Thursday to explore avenues for expanding collaboration in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR), according to a statement from the president’s office.
The meeting between Yoon and Zuckerberg focused on discussions regarding potential cooperation in AI and efforts to combat the spread of misinformation, especially in light of upcoming crucial elections, as confirmed by officials from Yoon’s office.
During their meeting, President Yoon and Zuckerberg discussed potential collaborations between South Korean firms and Meta, mainly focusing on the creation of an AI digital ecosystem, as stated by Sung Tae-yoon, Yoon’s chief of staff for policy. Yoon highlighted the leading position of South Korean companies in the memory market for AI systems and encouraged closer partnerships with Meta.
President Yoon highlighted South Korea’s portfolio of smart home appliances, wearable devices, and smart cars as a favorable platform for integrating Meta’s AI technology. He assured support for business partnerships and expressed optimism for enhanced collaboration, particularly in emerging areas like the metaverse and extended reality (XR) headsets.
During their discussions, President Yoon emphasized South Korea’s potential to serve as an exceptional platform for applying Meta’s artificial intelligence technology, citing the country’s diverse range of smart electronics, wearable devices, and smart cars.
President Yoon expressed Seoul’s willingness to assist Meta as needed, leveraging the close supply chain cooperation mechanisms established between South Korea and the United States. With elections scheduled globally this year, including South Korea’s parliamentary vote in April and the US presidential election in November, Yoon urged Zuckerberg to be vigilant in monitoring and preventing the spread of fake news on Meta’s platform.
Referring to South Korea by its formal name, Yoon highlighted the nation’s diverse range of smart electronics, wearable devices, and smart cars, suggesting that it could serve as an exceptional platform for implementing Meta’s AI technology.
Additionally, Yoon outlined South Korea’s efforts to support the metaverse industry and the potential for synergy if Meta collaborated with South Korean companies, which excel in hardware, to develop XR headsets for the metaverse industry. Yoon assured us that the South Korean industry is ready to support Meta’s initiatives and designs actively.
During his visit to South Korea, Zuckerberg met with top executives from LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics to discuss potential collaborations in AI and XR technology. Recent reports indicate that Meta is working with LG to develop a high-end headset to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro.
Zuckerberg’s discussions with Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and LG Electronics CEO William Cho focused on expanding ecosystems for generative AI and the supply of AI chips. Meta aims to integrate generative AI technology into its social media products and hardware devices, making AI chip supply and ecosystem expansion crucial priorities for the company this year.
