(ATTN: UPDATES paras 5-6)

By Park Boram

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean conglomerates and global tech giants, including Nvidia Corp., agreed Friday to pursue a series of cooperation projects that together are worth US$950 billion, a senior presidential official said.

The projects include a long-term deal under which SK Group will supply $750 billion worth of high-performance semiconductors to global tech firms, including Nvidia, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom said at a press briefing.

The agreement was reached during a high-level meeting in San Francisco that brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang were also among those who attended the meeting.

During the meeting, South Korean firms and global tech companies also agreed to pursue joint investment in large-scale AI data centers with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts and 2 million graphics processing units (GPUs), Kim said.

South Korea's internet portal Naver will also establish global AI factories worth $10 billion through a strategic investment agreement with Nvidia and an infrastructure supply deal with Brookfield Corp., a Canadian investment management firm.

Also at the meeting, President Lee Jae Myung declared a vision to make South Korea a trustworthy production base and supply partner for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, vowing to lead the country into a key global player in the AI supply chain.

"South Korea will make a leap forward to become an irreplaceable, core nation in the AI supply chain," Lee said under what his office called the "San Francisco AI Declaration."

"Based on the world's highest-level competitiveness and production capacity in memory semiconductors we have, (South Korea) will become a trustworthy AI chip production base and supply chain partner," the president said.

The declaration came as Seoul seeks to provide further momentum after growing global demand for semiconductors amid the AI boom has helped push South Korean into becoming one of the world's major chip supply hubs.

Last month, South Korea announced three megaprojects involving major investments, totaling over 4,000 trillion won (US$2.73 trillion), in a semiconductor production cluster, physical AI and AI data centers.

"South Korea will establish a world-class AI hub that will reliably supply the core infrastructure needed by the global AI ecosystem," the president said.

"The Republic of Korea will create a new market where the world can grow together by becoming not only a key supplier but also a country that most effectively and swiftly utilizes AI," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Lee also pledged efforts to create new markets for the real-world application of AI technology, such as in manufacturing or logistics, adding that the country will also seek to become a test bed for AI adoption.

"South Korea will become a responsible partner that shares the opportunities and benefits of AI with the world and grows together rather than pursuing growth alone," he said.

The South Korean president arrived here earlier in the day as part of a five-nation trip that will later take him to three South American countries, including Chile and Argentina. He is set to depart Saturday for Brazil.

pbr@yna.co.kr

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