▲ This photo, provided by SM Entertainment shows the executive vice president and producer Lee Soo-man meeting with the secretary of the council of Economic and Development affair, Faisal F. AIibrahim. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- Lee Soo-man, the Executive Vice President and Producer of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, met with officials from the Saudi Arabian government in order to discuss ways to build a metaverse city together with the entertainment business that local, young people can enjoy.

According to SM Entertainment on the 7th, the producer visited Riyadh, capital city of Saudi Arabia from the 23rd to the 24th of last month to meet important officials of the Saudi Arabia including Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud, princess of Saudi Arabia and vice minister of Tourism, Faisal F. AIibrahim, the secretary of the council of Economic and Development affair, and Hamed bin Mohammed Fayez, the minister of culture.

This meeting was arranged by the requests of officials of Saudi Abrabia who wanted to meet producer Lee, also known as the man who started the K-pop craze.

“I was able to know the power of K-pop beyond music, as it connects the whole world” Faisal F. Alibrahim, secretary of the council of Economic and Development affair said. “I hope that we’ll be able to receive and cooperate with the metaverse that produce Lee sees and visions.”

Producer Lee met with the Saudi officials and proposed to create the “Giga Project” which contains three technologies including AI (Artificial Intelligence), metaverse (virtual world) and drones in a new city that is under development. The Saudi officials responded that they would discuss the necessary policies in the coming future.

“70% of Saudi Arabia’s population is under the age of 30. I want producer Lee to create a music ecosystem (life) that young people can share and enjoy. I really look forward to the collaboration” Haifa Bint Mohammed Al Saud, Princess of Saudi Arabia, said.

Additionally, Producer Lee said, “Through producing, I hope to establish a direction for the entertainment business and the metaverse city construction while also building a music ecosystem that young people of the Saudi Arabia can enjoy.”

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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