Returned to Seoul Airport After Five Days in the U.S.
Delivered UN Keynote Address and Presided Over Security Council Debate
Discussed AI Investment with BlackRock... "Korea as the AI Capital of Asia-Pacific"
Invited Major Wall Street Investors t
President Lee Jaemyung, who visited New York, United States, to attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, returned to Korea on the evening of September 26 after completing a five-day, three-night schedule. Over the weekend, President Lee plans to review the outcomes of his visit to the United States with his aides and receive briefings on domestic issues.
For the first time since taking office, President Lee delivered a keynote address at the UN General Assembly and became the first Korean president to preside over a public debate at the UN Security Council. He also met with Larry Fink, Chairman of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, to sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on AI and energy IR transition. Additionally, he gathered major Wall Street investors at the New York Stock Exchange to promote the Korean stock market.
In his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23 (local time), President Lee declared the "complete return of Korean diplomacy" and introduced for the first time the "END Initiative," an acronym for Exchange, Normalization, and Denuclearization. He stated, "The most certain peace is a state where there is no need to fight." He also reiterated Korea's position to pursue a three-step denuclearization process-suspension, reduction, and dismantlement-while making it clear that there would be no hostile acts or pursuit of unification by absorption.
On climate action, President Lee pledged to submit a responsible national greenhouse gas reduction target and promised an energy transition within this year. He also announced plans to share the vision of "AI for All" through the "APEC AI Initiative" at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Gyeongju in October.
Presiding over the public debate as Security Council President on September 24, President Lee used the analogy "today's AI is like a tiger cub," emphasizing that "the future will be entirely different depending on how we handle this tool." He stressed the need for international solidarity to ensure the responsible use of AI.
Attracting AI Investment and Meeting Major Wall Street Investors to Promote the Korean Market
President Lee continued to prioritize public welfare and economic issues during his visit to New York. On the first day, he met with Larry Fink, Chairman of the World Economic Forum and BlackRock, to discuss Korea’s AI and energy transition sectors. BlackRock, with assets under management totaling approximately 14 quadrillion won, is the world’s largest asset management company. During this visit, BlackRock signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Science and ICT and launched a joint task force to invest in AI and energy transition. At the meeting, Chairman Larry Fink proposed making Korea the "AI capital of the Asia-Pacific region," drawing significant attention.
On the last day of his visit, September 25, President Lee hosted the "Korea Investment Summit" at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), bringing together major Wall Street investors. This was the first such event in eight years since former President Moon Jaein in 2017. Immediately after the NYSE opening bell ceremony, President Lee expressed his strong commitment to address market opacity and unfairness, rationalize corporate decision-making structures through amendments to the Commercial Act, resolve geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula by strengthening national defense and easing inter-Korean tensions, enhance predictability and restructure economic and industrial policies, and innovate the investment environment for foreign investors.
In particular, to achieve the long-sought inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index, President Lee announced plans to improve the won-denominated reverse trading market system and to unveil and actively pursue a comprehensive roadmap for MSCI inclusion within the year. Following the first and second amendments to the Commercial Act, he also pledged to pass a so-called "stronger" third amendment, which would mandate the cancellation of treasury shares.
U.S. Side’s Demands on U.S.-Bound Funds, Emphasizing 'Commercial Rationality' in Meetings with Congress Members and Treasury Secretary
Efforts to find a breakthrough in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, considered one of the most challenging issues since the new administration took office, were also notable. On the first day of his visit, President Lee met with members of the U.S. Congress, emphasizing that Korea’s position must differ from Japan’s, which recently concluded follow-up tariff negotiations with the United States, and made it clear that Korea could not accept all of the U.S. demands as they are.
President Lee also met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for about 30 minutes. Secretary Bessent had originally planned to attend the "Korea Investment Summit," but due to his schedule accompanying President Trump, he asked for Korea’s understanding and met with President Lee a day earlier than planned, on September 24.
During the meeting, President Lee addressed the unreasonable demands for Korea to invest the entire 350 billion dollars in U.S.-bound funds in cash and to reinvest all profits in the United States. He stated, "Good consultations are needed not only on security but also in trade," and emphasized that negotiations should be based on commercial rationality, serve the interests of both countries, and take into account differences in economic scale and foreign exchange market infrastructure compared to Japan.
Upon returning to Korea, President Lee plans to discuss the outcomes of his U.S. visit with his aides and receive briefings on pressing domestic issues. On September 30, he will also hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Busan. Prime Minister Ishiba will visit Korea for a two-day, one-night schedule, including a summit and dinner with President Lee.
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