Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (right) is taking a commemorative photo with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI in the United States, at the World Economic Forum, which opened on the 15th (local time).
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon had a busy schedule on the first day of the World Economic Forum (Davos Forum) held in Switzerland on the 15th (local time), meeting consecutively with political and business leaders and attending a startup CEO meeting to promote investment attraction in Gyeonggi Province.
Governor Kim participated in the ‘Innovator Community’ meeting, which gathered about 90 representatives of global unicorn companies (unlisted startups valued at over 1 trillion KRW and founded within the last 10 years).
The Innovator Community is a representative event of the Davos Forum where global startup companies share information. Governor Kim was the only government official among the participants that day. He exchanged greetings with unicorn company CEOs and discussed cooperation plans with Gyeonggi Province.
In particular, during the meeting with unicorn company representatives, Governor Kim had a conversation with Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO and pioneer of Chat GPT. The two agreed to meet again in Gyeonggi Province during Sam Altman’s next visit to Korea to discuss specific cooperation plans.
Additionally, Governor Kim individually met with about 20 global startup representatives attending the meeting to discuss cooperation plans.
Before attending the Innovator Community, Governor Kim met with Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss digital technology cooperation, including exchanges between Gyeonggi Province-UAE companies and Pangyo Techno Valley.
Governor Kim said, "Gyeonggi Province is home to major innovative industries such as ICT (Information and Communication Technology), bio, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and fintech centered around Pangyo Techno Valley," adding, "We hope to foster exchanges and cooperation with UAE companies in future industries." He also proposed a concrete plan to establish a working-level meeting for exchanges.
Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri responded, "I visited Pangyo Techno Valley last November. We hope to cooperate and exchange with Korea," and agreed to Governor Kim’s proposal by saying, "Let’s create a communication hotline."
With Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri accepting Governor Kim’s invitation that day, an official meeting between the two is expected soon. The UAE sent an economic delegation to Korea last November and has been promoting cooperation with technology companies during visits to places including Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province. Governor Kim expressed strong determination for cooperation with UAE companies in future industries centered on Pangyo Techno Valley.
Governor Kim also met with Paul Farrell, Vice President of BorgWarner, a global automotive parts company, to discuss investment attraction to Gyeonggi Province and the development of the venture industry.
He also exchanged views with Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, on the Korean, German, and global economies.
Notably, Governor Kim met with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, whom he had met last August at the ‘Climate Reality Leadership Training’ panel discussion held at KINTEX in Goyang City, to discuss Gyeonggi Province’s climate change response status and future cooperation plans.
After completing his schedule that day, Governor Kim introduced the achievements of his overseas visit through a live broadcast on social media.
Governor Kim said, "Thousands of leaders and world-renowned companies came from around the world. It was great to meet many people in a condensed space like ‘half water, half fish’ where you can exchange business cards and do business," and added, "I am very satisfied with the results achieved today."
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