S.Korean President meets MIT scholars to discuss digital, bio tech

NEW YORK: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a group of scholars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to discuss cooperation on digital and bio technologies.

Yoon, who was on a state visit to the United States, met with Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering, Professor Robert Langer, co-founder of Moderna, and James Collins, professor of biological engineering, among others.

"It's significant that I came to Boston right after my trip to Washington," Yoon said, referring to the first leg of his state visit marking the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance, reports Yonhap news agency.

"Our alliance does not stop at defense and security, but this kind of creative and innovative cooperation on science and technology is a new domain of our alliance," he said.

Yoon explained he believed it would make a big difference to see and learn for himself where the two countries can work together and create synergies in the areas of cutting-edge science and technology, bioscience, artificial intelligence and other digital technology.

Later in the day, Yoon led the Korea-U.S. Cluster Round Table and discussed cooperation between the two countries in cutting-edge industry clusters.

Boston is known as a biotechnology cluster and is home to global pharmaceutical companies, research labs and major institutions, including MIT and Harvard University.

The roundtable was attended by representatives from LabCentral, which fosters startups in biotechnology, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Dynamics, and investment companies and hospitals.