By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

President Lee Jae-myung, currently in the United States to attend the UN General Assembly, met with BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink, Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Chairman Adebayo Ogunlesi, and former World Bank President Kim Yong as his first stop on the agenda on September 22 (local time).

The meeting focused on three major transformations facing humanity: artificial intelligence, energy transition, and demographic change. They also confirmed a shared understanding for strategic cooperation between Korea and global investment firms.

Chairman Larry Fink emphasized the importance of AI and the decarbonization transition going hand in hand, emphasizing that this is a global challenge. He expressed his commitment to actively engaging with global capital to help Korea become the "AI Capital in Asia."

President Lee welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on Korea's vision of becoming the Asia-Pacific AI Capital and emphasized the need for close and ongoing discussions to ensure this partnership translates into tangible results. He also personally invited Chairman Larry Fink to Korea.

Chairman Fink and his team noted that under President Lee's leadership, the Korean stock market has reached record highs since his inauguration, rapidly stabilizing the political and economic situation. They expressed anticipation for Korea's future economic development.

In particular, they praised the Korean government's proactive policy initiatives in the AI and energy sectors and expressed strong interest in Korea's investment in AI and energy infrastructure.

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, currently manages $12.5 trillion in assets. BlackRock has formed the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) with Microsoft, NVIDIA, xAI, and others to spearhead global investment in AI and renewable energy infrastructure.

In particular, at this meeting, the Korean government and BlackRock agreed to cooperate in three major directions through an MOU, establishing a basic framework for global cooperation.

First, to address the rapidly growing demand for AI in Korea, the two sides agreed to examine an integrated approach that combines data centers with renewable energy generation and storage facilities, and explore the possibility of developing a global model based on this approach.

Second, they collaborated on establishing an Asia-Pacific AI hub in Korea. While discussing plans to locate a hyperscale AI data center based on renewable energy in Korea, they agreed to envision it serving as a regional hub that could meet domestic demand while also encompassing the needs of the Asia-Pacific region.

Third, to establish a global cooperative structure, the two sides opened up the possibility of participating in the Global AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) with major institutional investors and industry partners. Furthermore, they agreed to jointly prepare the direction of large-scale investment necessary for the transition to AI and renewable energy in the Asia-Pacific region over the next five years.

Based on these discussions, the two sides plan to establish Korea as a trusted hub for global capital and businesses in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to the semiconductor, battery, communications, security, and cooling technologies necessary for building AI data centers, they will also integrate renewable energy generation, storage, and transmission and distribution networks.

This will enable the participation of all domestic companies. Through this, they plan to revitalize the national industrial ecosystem and create an opportunity for domestic companies to become more competitive in overseas markets.