![Choi Soo-yeon, Naver CEO. [Photo: Provided by Naver]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2026/04/CP-2023-0293/image-52c323f3-a07b-4dca-a46d-a4b5bee5ea05.jpeg)
On April 3, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Seoul on a state visit marking the 140th anniversary of Korea–France diplomatic relations. Choi outlined Naver’s AI and cloud capabilities and discussed potential avenues for corporate cooperation between the two countries centered on AI.
Naver’s delegation included CEO Choi, CFO Kim Hee-chul, Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won and Naver Labs CEO Seok Sang-ok.
The French delegation accompanying President Macron included Emmanuel Bonne, the president’s chief diplomatic adviser; Julie Le Saos, adviser for Asia, the Americas and Oceania; and Victor Bandville, adviser on investment attraction, exports and trade policy.
Choi presented Naver’s major initiatives focused on France, noting the company’s experience operating Naver Labs Europe and its participation in Corellia Capital, a fund established by former French digital economy minister Fleur Pellerin.
She also emphasized Naver’s full‑stack AI capabilities, explaining that the company links its in‑house large language models, data centers, cloud infrastructure and large-scale user services through proprietary technology.
Choi said Naver seeks to develop a range of collaborative opportunities with French AI firms based on those strengths.
President Macron outlined the French government’s AI policy and expressed interest in promoting deeper technology exchange, business investment and partnerships in AI and cloud between the two countries.
The meeting was arranged at the French government’s request as part of efforts to meet Korea’s leading corporate executives and explore areas of cooperation.
In addition to Choi, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, held separate one-on-one meetings with President Macron.
