Lee urges cooperation with U.S. venture capital to push ties deeper into tech, innovation

President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that Korea and the United States should advance their ties beyond their time-honored alliance by expanding cooperation into technology, innovation and startups.

Lee made the remarks at a meeting in San Francisco with venture capitalists investing in Silicon Valley. The president arrived Friday en route to Brazil, the first destination of his three-nation trip to South America.

The meeting was attended by executives from six venture capital firms based in Silicon Valley, including Martin Casado of Andreessen Horowitz, Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst.

"Korea and the United States should expand the scope of their cooperation beyond the longstanding security alliance to include technology, innovation and startups," Lee said.

He insisted that combining the world-class venture capital capacity and global networks of the United States with Korea's advanced technology and manufacturing competitiveness would create new global innovators, the likes of global chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, that will lead the world.

"If Korea's startups meet U.S. capital and markets, while U.S. investors and innovative companies connect with Korea's technology, manufacturing and talent ecosystem, both countries will become partners in innovation that will shape the future over the next 30 years," Lee said.

The president also called for partnerships and investment from the U.S. venture capital firms, pledging to create the world's best environment for investment and startups.

He vowed to reform the visa system to better attract foreign startup talent while laying the foundation for cooperation linking companies, research institutes and investors at home and abroad.

"If Korea's promising startups meet your global investment capacity, investors would gain new opportunities for growth," Lee said, calling it the "most successful innovation model."

He also vowed to help startups become global players by connecting them with private and government-managed funds.

Yonhap