The chief of the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday stressed the importance of keeping inflation under control, saying the global artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom and the prolonged Middle East conflict are combining to push up consumer prices. "Korea sits at the intersection of two of the most important trends right now. One is AI and the big investment boom, and the other one is the war in the Middle East," BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song said during a CNN Global Perspectives session livestreamed online on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand. "In terms of activity, they pull in opposite directions. But the AI economy is swamping the negative effect of the war in the Middle East. But in terms of inflation, and this is relevant for the central bank, they are actually combining to raise inflation," he said. Korea is at the forefront of the global AI boom, as demand for AI computing infrastructure has fueled demand for memory chips, driving exports and profits at the country's two major chipmakers, Samsung Elect