Lee Eun-ho, Ambassador to the Taipei Representative Office
First Taiwan Posting as a Science and Engineering PhD
"Need to Strengthen Cooperation with Taiwan, Rising as an AI Hub"
Lee Eun-ho, the Ambassador of the Korean Representative Office in Taipei, said that on Sunday, the 2nd, he stood in line for a long time in the rain in front of the National Taiwan University Gymnasium. This was to listen to Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA's keynote speech at 'Computex 2024.' Since his appointment last year, he has joined the ticketing battle for two consecutive years to hear Jensen Huang's speech. The ambassador said, "It was much harder to get tickets than last year. I was the only one from the representative office who could attend."
The fact that Ambassador Lee took time on a holiday despite bad weather to listen to a semiconductor company CEO's speech can be hinted at from his unique background. He is not a diplomat from the humanities or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He holds a doctorate in science and engineering and came to Taiwan after serving as the head of the Strategic Materials Management Agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He is the first case of a non-professional diplomat appointed as ambassador to the Taipei Representative Office. Ambassador Lee's assignment to Taiwan can be seen as a strategic government decision considering the importance of Taiwan's semiconductor industry.
On the opening day of Computex held in Taipei on the 4th, Ambassador Lee attentively listened to the remarks of key speakers on-site and checked out the booths of major companies. He did not forget to visit the booths of Korean companies such as SK Hynix.
On the 5th, the ambassador told reporters, "With the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) era, Computex has changed dramatically compared to last year and this year. This year, famous semiconductor companies that everyone knows gathered altogether. Especially, the alliance with Taiwanese companies stands out." He emphasized that attention should be paid to the fact that NVIDIA as well as the American company Intel expressed the idea of forming alliances with Taiwanese companies.
He explained, "In Jensen Huang's keynote last year, Taiwan's level was about OEM, but this year, based on NVIDIA's experience, there is a strong message to move forward as one team."
Considering these changes, the ambassador stressed that Korea should also place significance on strengthening relations with Taiwan. He advised that in a situation where AI momentum is centered around Taiwan, exchanges between Korea and Taiwan should be further expanded, and interest in their policies and industrial trends should be increased.
The ambassador emphasized, "A significant portion of trade volume between Korea and Taiwan is semiconductors. The economies of both countries are complementary. Much cooperation is already underway. There will be competition, but no one can do everything alone."
He also said that the recent significant increase in private exchanges involving mutual visits between Taiwan and Korea is very positive. In particular, he added that the rapid increase in visits by Taiwanese people compared to Korean visits to Taiwan reflects that there is a sufficient foundation for enhancing mutual friendship.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
