Camille Naredo

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with the Filipino community in Busan at the Wyndham Grand Busan on October 30, 2025, as he begins his official activities in the Republic of Korea ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with the Filipino community in Busan at the Wyndham Grand Busan on October 30, 2025, as he begins his official activities in the Republic of Korea ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

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APEC

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:958px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761969970025IMG_2254.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with the Filipino community in Busan at the Wyndham Grand Busan on October 30, 2025, as he begins his official activities in the Republic of Korea ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with the Filipino community in Busan at the Wyndham Grand Busan on October 30, 2025, as he begins his official activities in the Republic of Korea ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. <em>Yummie Dingding, PPA pool</em></span></span></span></div><p>GYEONGJU, South Korea — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other world leaders discussed South Korea’s proposal to establish an “Asia-Pacific AI center” as the host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit pushes to draft policies that would pave the way for “a future-ready Asia-Pacific.”</p><p>The proposed Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Center is part of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) commitment to “build an AI universal basic society where technological innovation drives inclusive growth and ensures AI for all,” Southern Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in his opening statement at the APEC Leaders’ Retreat Session.</p><p>“The Asia-Pacific AI Center that the ROK moves to establish aims to promote AI policy exchanges and breach the AI divide, ultimately contributing to the strengthening of AI capabilities across the region,” he said.</p><p>“In doing so, the Republic of Korea will, in solidarity and cooperation with APEC member economies, turn unbounded innovation into shared prosperity,” he said.</p><p>Under South Korea’s proposal, “infrastructure, such as AI data centers, will be expanded and human resource will be nurtured to invigorate the AI industry ecosystem,” Lee said.</p><p>“The member economies of APEC already possess the potential and capacity to pro-actively respond to the changes that will be brought on by AI,” he said, noting that 5 out of the top 10 economies with AI capability are APEC members,” while “all 4 of the economies with the highest number of AI-related patents are also members of APEC.”</p><p>Malacañang has yet to share Marcos Jr.’s response and intervention during the APEC Leaders’ Retreat Session, but the Philippine President earlier told Asia-Pacific business leaders that the Philippines has also been pushing for digitalization in government, and laying the groundwork to accommodate more tech investments.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/10/31/marcos-jr-to-ceos-philippines-open-ready-eager-to-do-business-1652">Marcos to CEOs: Philippines ‘open, ready, eager’ to do business</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>ASIA-PACIFIC’S POPULATION CHALLENGE</strong></div><p>The APEC 2025 chair also hopes that AI can also help the region address the growing threat of an aging demography and low fertility rate.</p><p>The number of people who are 65-years old and above “has doubled in the past 3 decades while the total fertility rate has dropped from 2.5 in 1989 to 1.3 in 2023,” while fertility rate has been “steadily declining in the past 30 years,” the South Korean President said.</p><p>“This demographic shift poses a formidable challenge that impacts the overall society including our economic growth rates, labor markets, education and welfare,” he said.</p><p>“Fragmented and isolated responses will not be sufficient to respond to this challenge.”</p><p>“From inclusive growth that spans generations to AI powered solutions to addressing demographic challenges, I hope that we can cooperate for fresh and creative ideas,” he said.</p><p>In an earlier session, Marcos Jr. told APEC leaders to develop the youth and “close the gender gap” to boost growth, saying that this move has proven to be “smart economics” for the Philippines.</p><p>“Closing the gender gap, as our experience shows, is not only a matter of fairness; it is smart economics,” he said.</p><p>“Empowering women to participate fully in the economy could add as much as $28 trillion to global GDP, making this the most critical investment for sustained growth,” he said.</p><p>“We encourage actions to alleviate gender pay gaps and enable the full participation of women in the economy.”</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/11/1/-smart-economics-marcos-jr-urges-apec-leaders-to-close-gender-pay-gap-for-sustained-growth-0958">‘Smart economics’: Marcos Jr. urges APEC leaders to close gender pay gap for sustained growth</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>TAPPING CREATIVE INDUSTRIES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH</strong></div><p>While much of the APEC Leaders’ Retreat Session is not broadcast to the public, Lee shared snippets of his proposed solutions, including “focusing on the cultural and creative industries” to spur economic growth in the region.</p><p>“The power of culture and creativity, and its power of connection goes beyond economic value, enhancing mutual understanding and strengthening solidarity among APEC member economies,” he said, underscoring that 40 percent of global exports in the cultural and creative industries came from the APEC region in 2022.</p><p>“I believe that the growth of the cultural and creative industries will also make a significant contribution to achieving this year’s 3 APEC priorities: connection, innovation and prosperity,” he said.</p><p>In recent decades, South Korean dramas, movies and music have catapulted earnings for the East Asian peninsula, with its content and creatives industry accounting for about $42.9 billion in 2024, according to data from the Korea Development Institute.</p><p>Exports of K-content in 2023 alone was pegged at $14.16 billion in 2023, while the industry contributed an estimated $12.3 billion to the Korean economy in 2019, accounting for about 2.6-3.7 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/10/31/marcos-urges-apec-leaders-to-revive-wto-s-appellate-body-dispute-mechanism-1235">Marcos urges APEC leaders to revive WTO’s Appellate Body, dispute mechanism</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/03FrMcrRFLI?si=tJmfEKlQmhlvkAC4" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other world leaders discussed South Korea’s proposal to establish an “Asia-Pacific AI center” as the host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit pushes to draft policies that would pave the way for “a future-ready Asia-Pacific.”</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other world leaders discussed South Korea’s proposal to establish an “Asia-Pacific AI center” as the host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit pushes to draft policies that would pave the way for “a future-ready Asia-Pacific.”

‘AI for all’: Marcos, APEC leaders tackle South Korea’s proposed ‘Asia-Pacific AI Center’

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‘AI for all’: Marcos, APEC leaders tackle South Korea’s proposed ‘Asia-Pacific AI Center’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 01, 2025 12:16 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 01, 2025 01:25 PM PHT

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