President Lee Jae-myung has established a critical minerals supply chain cooperation framework during his tour of Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, while also securing significant investments for artificial intelligence (AI) technology and capital in San Francisco.
The government aims to combine South America's mineral resources, U.S. big tech's technology and capital, and South Korea's semiconductor manufacturing capabilities to position Korea as a central hub in the global AI supply chain.
According to the Blue House on August 2, the government adopted a 'Joint Statement on Critical Strategic Minerals' with Brazil. The two countries agreed to explore corporate investments and joint ventures throughout the entire cycle of exploration, mining, processing, and utilization of critical minerals, including rare earths.
With Chile, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mineral resource partnership was signed, elevating government-level discussions on lithium and copper to a ministerial level and formalizing them.
Additionally, an MOU on critical minerals cooperation was established with Argentina, focusing on corporate investments and joint projects across the entire value chain, expanding cooperation from lithium to copper.
The government has also expanded its trade foundation for entering the South American market. It agreed to resume negotiations on the Korea-Mercosur trade agreement, which had been suspended since 2021, with Brazil and Argentina leading the Mercosur bloc.
Brazil plans to push for the resumption of negotiations during the Mercosur summit in December after consulting with other member countries, including Uruguay and Paraguay. Argentina is reportedly more proactive than Brazil in resuming negotiations.
National Security Office Director Wi Seok-ryeol explained at a press briefing in Buenos Aires on July 31 that if the agreement is finalized, it would open export opportunities for South Korean products to a massive market of 280 million people.
With Chile, South Korea's first free trade agreement (FTA) partner, the FTA Joint Committee has been reactivated for the first time in a decade, and discussions on modernizing the agreement have begun. The establishment of the Korea-Brazil Economic and Trade Committee and the conclusion of a double taxation agreement with Argentina are also seen as improvements to trade and investment conditions for businesses.
In the energy sector, HD Hyundai Oilbank has imported 880,000 barrels of crude oil from Argentina this year as a pilot project. The purchase volume for next year will be determined by the refinery based on international oil prices, transportation costs, and the suitability of domestic refining facilities.
The government plans to expand renewable energy cooperation with Brazil and restart the Economic Joint Committee and Energy Resource Cooperation Committee with Argentina to explore projects related to oil, gas, and nuclear energy.
Director Wi stated, "We have established a cooperation framework at the state level to secure critical minerals essential for the supply chain, including AI hardware and AI data centers, with the three South American countries."
In San Francisco, prior to the South American tour, cooperation to secure AI technology and capital was solidified. President Lee announced the 'San Francisco AI Declaration' after meetings with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom.
Domestic companies and global big tech firms plan to pursue semiconductor cooperation worth a total of $950 billion over the next five years. Samsung Electronics signed an MOU for advanced memory semiconductor and foundry cooperation worth $200 billion with Broadcom, while SK is engaging in long-term supply cooperation for advanced memory with NVIDIA and others, valued at $750 billion.
Investment cooperation for AI data centers, equivalent to about 5GW and 2 million NVIDIA B200 graphics processing units (GPUs), is also underway. Naver is building an AI factory worth $10 billion in collaboration with NVIDIA and Brookfield, and the National Pension Service has signed an investment cooperation MOU with six Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
Director Wi emphasized, "We will ensure that the agreements reached through summit diplomacy lead to concrete projects and outcomes without any setbacks."
President Lee held a meeting with local Koreans shortly after arriving in Frankfurt, Germany, and will return home after completing his tour of the three South American countries, including the U.S., Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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