South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said the relationship between Seoul and Washington should expand beyond its long-standing security alliance to include deeper cooperation in technology, innovation and startups, and urged U.S. venture capital firms to increase investment in South Korea. Speaking at a Silicon Valley event in San Francisco, Lee said Korea and the United States could combine capital, markets, technology, manufacturing strength and talent to build the next generation of global companies. He also pledged visa reforms, stronger collaboration frameworks and linked public-private funds aimed at helping Korean startups scale internationally. Attendees included investors from Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz, and participating venture capital firms signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Pension Service.