Naver met French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday during his state visit to South Korea marking 140 years of diplomatic ties, introducing its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technology capabilities and discussing ways for companies in the two countries to work together.

The meeting was attended by CEO Choi Soo-yeon (최수연), Chief Financial Officer Kim Hee-chul (김희철), Naver Cloud CEO Kim You-won (김유원), Naver Labs CEO Seok Sang-ok (석상옥), President Macron, Emmanuel Bonne, the president's diplomatic adviser, Julie Le Saos, an adviser for Asia, the Americas and Oceania, and Victoire Vandeville, an adviser in charge of investment attraction, exports and trade policy.

Choi introduced initiatives including her experience operating the AI research institute Naver Labs Europe in Grenoble, France, and participation in an investment in Korelya Capital, founded by former French minister for the digital economy Fleur Pellerin.

Choi referred to the company's full-stack AI capabilities that connect the entire process independently, including large language models (LLMs), data centres, cloud infrastructure and user services. She said Naver aims to create opportunities to work with French AI companies based on that capability.

Macron introduced the status of French government policies aimed at making Europe a leading AI power and said France would support expanded technology exchanges, business investment and partnerships between the two countries in AI and cloud industries.

The meeting was arranged at the request of the French government, which said it would meet South Korean business leaders to seek cooperation. Macron held separate one-on-one meetings with Choi, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun.