(LEAD) S. Korean president to meet CEO of Twitter

All News 21:43 March 20, 2019

(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 3-4, photo)

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet Jack Dorsey, the chief executive officer of Twitter, this week, his office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

The meeting will be held at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, shortly after Dorsey's arrival here earlier in the day.

On Twitter, Dorsey said he is "excited to learn more" about how Moon uses Twitter to communicate with the Korean people.

In response, Moon thanked him "for creating a communication platform where everyone can voice out their opinions freely" and expressed hope for "a fruitful conversation" with the chief.

The rare meeting between Moon and the head of a foreign company comes at the request of Dorsey, who is also a co-founder of the social networking service (SNS), according to a Cheong Wa Dae official.

The two are widely expected to discuss ways to enhance public communication via SNS platforms such as Twitter.

Moon currently has more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Moon's meeting with Dorsey will follow a meeting with former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The president has asked the former U.N. chief to head a new government organization to be set up to tackle issues related to air pollution.

Ban is believed to have agreed to take charge of the new organization, which was proposed by the head of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party.