(MENAFN) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Saturday for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations to harness artificial intelligence-driven disruption as a catalyst for regional prosperity, according to South Korean.

Speaking at the APEC summit's retreat session in Gyeongju, a southeastern South Korean city, Lee introduced the nation's flagship program titled "AI-Based Society for All."

South Korea "envisions a global AI society where people around the world can equally enjoy the benefits of technological progress, and will steadily implement policies to realize this core vision," Lee said in his remarks.

"We should turn the great transformation brought by AI into an opportunity," he said, adding that South Korea is pursuing an "AI transformation" at the national level and fostering an ecosystem for AI innovation.

The president outlined plans to scale digital infrastructure and slash regulatory barriers to attract international tech giants. "We will expand infrastructure, such as large-scale data centers, and carry out regulatory reforms to create an environment where global companies can innovate freely," he said.

Lee also pushed for coordinated APEC action on demographic headwinds, proposing a joint framework to address plummeting fertility rates and rapidly aging societies across member states.

"Demographic changes pose serious challenges that affect all areas of society, ranging from economic growth and the labor market to education and welfare, and cannot be resolved through partial or isolated measures," he said.

Confronting twin pressures from technological upheaval and population decline, Lee identified South Korea's entertainment and creative sectors as emerging economic engines positioned to drive future expansion.

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