President next set for talks with leaders of 3 Latin American countries President Lee Jae Myung (left) speaks at the Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup in San Francisco, Saturday. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday (US time) highlighted the potential synergy between South Korea and the US, saying that collaboration could give rise to the next generation of mega companies like Samsung and Hyundai, at a meeting with representatives of US venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.Such potential rests on South Korean firms' technological prowess and their ability to deliver fast execution, manufacturing capacity, advanced digital infrastructure, human talent and cultural competitiveness, Lee said, adding these capabilities have boosted the influx of foreign startup entrepreneurs to South Korea in recent years."The government of South Korea will translate this potential into tangible results by fostering one of the world’s most attractive environments for investment and entrepreneurship," Lee said at the Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup in San Francisco. The city was the first leg of Lee's 11-day trip to the US, three South American nations and Germany.Against this backdrop, Lee said that US venture capital firms have a role in nurturing the South Korean startup ecosystem and shaping "the next 30 years together" as partners in innovation, involving "reciprocal growth" between foreign investors and startups."The US has world-class venture investment capabilities and global networks, while South Korea possesses excellent technological prowess, manufacturing competitiveness and a dynamic startup ecosystem," Lee said."By combining our two nations’ strengths, we will be able to create the next generation of companies like Samsung, Hyundai, SK and Naver, as well as innovative, world-leading new businesses."In this vein, Lee promised to reform visa policies for foreign talents, strengthen cooperative platforms connecting businesses, research institutes and investment houses, and provide support for investment in startups by integrating South Korea's fund of funds, pension funds and private capital.Also on the occasion of the meetup, South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's third-largest by assets under management, signed a memorandum of understanding with six US-based venture capital firms: Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates.The agreement aims to expand cooperation between the US venture firms and South Korea's venture ecosystem and boost strategic ties between the NPS and the six US investment houses.According to Lee's chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, the six US firms manage assets worth $313 billion combined. President Lee Jae Myung (right, front) shares a high-five during his visit to Pier 39 in San Francisco on Saturday. (Pool photo via Yonhap) Also on Saturday, Lee met with some 200 overseas Koreans in the city. Just before he wrapped up his San Francisco trip, he stopped by a waterfront attraction called Pier 39 and had dinner at Scoma’s Restaurant, according to the presidential office.In San Francisco on Friday, leaders of tech titans in South Korea and the United States agreed to pursue chip partnerships involving some $950 billion in deals for chip purchases from South Korean chipmakers, investment in South Korea's artificial intelligence infrastructure and market discovery for physical AI services. Kim Yong-beom, chief presidential secretary for policy, said the deals could power South Korea's "three megaprojects" to build massive semiconductor plants.Following his San Francisco declaration that South Korea will become "a global AI production base and a breeding ground for innovation" and turn South Korea into "a global AI test bed and production platform," Lee dined with the entrepreneurs who appeared at the San Francisco AI Summit.Among the business leaders from South Korea and the US were Samsung Electronics Executive Chair Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Chung Euisun, as well as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. President Lee Jae Myung (right) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung board Air Force One before their departure from San Francisco on Saturday. (Yonhap) Lee departed San Francisco Saturday local time to head for Brazil for a state visit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.Lee and Lula will meet on Sunday local time, at a reception hosted by Lula and his wife. The summit between Lee and Lula will be the second since Lee's inauguration in June.Lee will also travel to Chile and Argentina for official trips there later this week to meet Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast and Argentinian President Javier Milei.