'Optimal investment destination with unlimited scalability'

Lee Won-taek, governor-elect of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province. [Yonhap]
Lee Won-taek, governor-elect of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province. [Yonhap]

Lee Won-taek, governor-elect of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province, has proposed a meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to discuss investment in the Saemangeum development zone.

The transition committee for the ninth directly elected governor of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province said Friday that Lee recently sent personal letters to Nvidia's US headquarters and to the head of Nvidia Korea conveying the proposal.

The overture responds to remarks Huang made during his recent visit to South Korea, in which he cited Saemangeum as a potential investment opportunity.

In the letters, Lee described Saemangeum as a "Clean Slate" — a blank canvas with virtually no regulation. He said the site is "the optimal investment destination offering the frictionless environment, unlimited scalability and overwhelming speed that Nvidia needs."

Lee highlighted three strengths he said put Saemangeum on par with Arizona in the United States and Oxagon in Saudi Arabia: clean energy for building next-generation AI data centers, abundant industrial water supplies, and a bold regulatory sandbox that allows physical AI and robotics technology to be tested without restriction.

Lee proposed that instead of a formal presentation, the two sit down over samgyeopsal for a candid conversation about turning Saemangeum into a global AI valley.

He added that he would travel anywhere in the world for the sake of North Jeolla's development, and that he would mobilize every available resource to bring world-class companies like Nvidia to Saemangeum.


notstrong@heraldcorp.com