One Year of Laying the Groundwork to Become a Global Top-Three AI Power: "Achieving AI Self-Reliance Through Proprietary AI Models and Securing GPUs"

Baek Kyunghoon: "A Leap Toward Becoming a Full-Stack AI Supplier"

National AI Computing Center Construction Begins to Expand Infrastructure

Elevated to Deputy Prime Minister's Office After 17 Years, Restoring the R&D Ecosystem

Baek Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, is speaking at the "Ministry of Science and ICT Press Conference" held on the afternoon of the 29th at the Seoul Central Post Office in Jung-gu, Seoul. From left, Koo Hyukchae, 1st Vice Minister; Baek Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister; Park Ingyu, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Marking the first anniversary of the Lee Jaemyung administration, the Ministry of Science and ICT cited the establishment of a foundation for becoming one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses, recovery of the research and development (R&D) ecosystem, and alleviating the public’s financial burden by guaranteeing basic telecommunications rights as its key achievements. The ministry aims to achieve this goal by developing independent AI models, securing advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), and strengthening AI competency for the entire population.

On May 29, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a press conference at the main conference room of Seoul Central Post Office and announced its core achievements over the past year.

On that day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyung-hoon stated, "Korea is steadily moving toward becoming a top-three AI powerhouse," adding, "We will accelerate our leap forward as a country capable of supplying the full AI stack with even more bold and comprehensive support, and we will generate tangible results that the public can actually experience in their daily lives." Deputy Prime Minister Baek also said, "In the second half of this year, we will unveil the second independent AI model to continue Korea's AI self-sufficiency, and we will begin construction of the National AI Computing Center to expand the infrastructure needed to lead the global technology competition."

Securing 260,000 Advanced GPUs by 2030 Without Delay

The Ministry of Science and ICT is prioritizing strengthening the nation’s AI competitiveness. As a result of encouraging the development of independent AI, Korea ranked third in major global assessments such as the Stanford University AI Index and the AAII, a comprehensive global AI model performance evaluation platform operated by Artificial Analysis, an AI assessment agency.

The government is working to secure 260,000 advanced GPUs, a national AI infrastructure, by 2030 without delay. In January, Korea enacted the ‘AI Basic Act,’ the world’s second such law. In May, the government began regulatory easing through the ‘Special Act on AI Data Centers.’ In addition, the government is supporting the deployment and application of independent AI models not only in the development stage but across all industrial and public sectors, including semiconductor plants, national administrative networks, and R&D budget reviews.

Deputy Prime Minister Baek emphasized that it is now time for Korea to take on frontier AI models. He stated, "Just as we have developed eight notable AI models within our available resources, if we invest more aggressively in GPUs and AI infrastructure, we can also take on frontier models." He further noted, "Once artificial general intelligence (AGI) is achieved, the speed gap will grow exponentially, and to reach AGI, we must step into the frontier model arena."

The ministry is also focusing on enhancing AI competency for the entire population. The number of AI Digital Learning Centers has been nearly doubled from 37 to 69, and the number of people receiving AI education has been expanded from 910,000 to 1.3 million. The first-ever National AI Competition, held this year, is expected to engage more than 2 million participants by the end of the year.

Efforts to establish a challenging R&D ecosystem are also ongoing. The ministry allocated a record-high R&D budget of 35.5 trillion won, up 20% from the previous year, to restore the research ecosystem. In particular, 2.74 trillion won was invested in the ministry’s basic research, a 17% increase from the previous year. The number of new projects also increased from 3,772 to 7,022.

Notably, the ministry abolished the preliminary feasibility study system for R&D projects for the first time in 18 years, significantly shortening the process from submitting business proposals to budget allocation and adjustment from two years to just five months. The research project-based system (PBS), which had led to excessive competition for project orders, was also eliminated. A new budgetary item was introduced allowing researchers 10% discretionary use of research funds, and administrative forms for indirect costs were streamlined by more than 90%, from 2,171 to 154 forms.

Support for science and technology talent has also been expanded. The number of recipients for the master’s excellence scholarship increased from 1,000 to 1,625, the doctoral excellence scholarship was established for the first time this year (with 1,000 recipients), and more than 200 outstanding overseas talents were recruited to Korea in the first half of the year.

With the Ministry of Science and ICT elevated to deputy prime minister status for the first time in 17 years, the Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting, launched in November last year, has been serving as an inter-ministerial coordination and cooperation platform. The ministry has unified and refined the fragmented technology management systems operated by individual ministries, and is supporting each ministry’s AI transformation (AX) initiatives.

In March, the ‘Information and Communications Network Act’ was revised to allow for thorough investigations and punitive fines of up to 3% of annual revenue for companies that experience repeated security breaches. In addition, the data safety option, previously applied only to mid- and high-priced data plans of the three telecommunications companies, was expanded to cover all data plans so that the public can access basic data without incurring additional costs.

Baek Kyung-hoon: "Investing More Boldly in the AI Sector"

Deputy Prime Minister Baek stated, "If last year was about inspiring expectations for a better daily life and future through science, technology, and AI, our focus in the second year will be on linking and integrating the policies we have pursued to create synergy and tangible outcomes. In the AI sector, we will invest even more boldly to further solidify our capacity as one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses."

In particular, the ministry will actively promote the ‘AI for All Project,’ which will offer AI services based on independent AI models to the entire population free of charge, and plans to expand public engagement by applying nationwide AI education and public and private AX initiatives. The K-AI ecosystem will also be further strengthened by securing large-scale references to drive the wider use of Korean AI semiconductors.

To counter high-performance and high-risk AI cyber threats, the ministry will establish an emergency response team in the private sector and unify vulnerability and patch management. The ministry plans to shift to an AI security system by securing security sovereignty based on independent AI technology and promoting the spread of zero trust.

In the field of science and technology, the ministry aims to establish a challenging R&D ecosystem and propel Korea into the world’s top five science and technology powerhouses. To this end, the ministry plans to announce the ‘6th Basic Plan for Science and Technology’ and the ‘2nd National R&D Mid- to Long-term Investment Strategy.’ Additionally, the ministry will present mission-specific milestones for the ‘K-Moonshot’ initiative, with the aim of achieving major breakthroughs in strategic fields such as semiconductors, small modular reactors (SMRs), humanoids, quantum technology, and biotechnology.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.