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

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon is speaking at the "Ministry of Science and ICT Press Conference" held at Seoul Central Post Office in Jung-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 29th. From left, Koo Hyukchae, First Vice Minister; Baek Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister; Park Ingyu, Director General 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 highlighted its key achievements: laying the groundwork for becoming one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses, restoring the research and development (R&D) ecosystem, and easing the burden on people’s livelihoods by guaranteeing basic communication rights. The ministry aims to achieve its goal of positioning Korea among the top three AI leaders by developing independent AI models, securing advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), and strengthening AI utilization capabilities 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 key accomplishments over the past year.

At the event, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon stated, “Korea is now cruising toward becoming one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses. We will accelerate our leap forward as a full-stack AI supplier with bolder and more comprehensive support, and we will deliver tangible results that people can truly feel in their daily lives.” Deputy Prime Minister Baek added, “In the second half of the year, we will release a second independent AI model to further Korea’s AI self-reliance, and we will begin construction of the national AI computing center to expand the infrastructure needed to lead global technology competition.”

260,000 Advanced GPUs to Be Secured by 2030 Without Delay

The ministry is prioritizing the enhancement of national AI competitiveness. As a result of encouraging independent AI development, Korea has ranked third in major global evaluations, such as the AI Index by Stanford University in the United States and AAII, a global AI model performance assessment platform run by Artificial Analysis.

The government is working to ensure that 260,000 advanced GPUs—the national AI infrastructure—are secured by 2030 without delay. In January, Korea implemented the world’s second-ever “AI Basic Act.” In May, regulatory reforms were initiated through the “AI Data Center Special Act.” The government is also supporting the application of independent AI models beyond the development phase, expanding their use across all sectors, including semiconductor factories, government administrative networks, and R&D budget deliberations.

Deputy Prime Minister Baek emphasized that it is time for Korea to take on the challenge of AI frontier models. He noted, “Just as we have developed eight notable AI models with available resources, we can also take on frontier models if GPU and AI infrastructure investments become more aggressive.” He further explained that when artificial general intelligence (AGI) is achieved, the speed gap will grow exponentially, and in order to reach AGI, Korea must enter the frontier model race.

The ministry is also strengthening AI utilization capabilities for all citizens. The number of AI Digital Learning Centers has nearly doubled from 37 to 69, and the number of people receiving AI training is being expanded from 910,000 to 1.3 million. The first-ever National AI Competition, launched this year, is expected to attract over two million participants by the end of the year.

Efforts to create a challenging R&D ecosystem are ongoing. The ministry allocated a record-high R&D budget of 35.5 trillion won, a 20% increase over the previous year, to help restore the research ecosystem. The basic research budget of the Ministry of Science and ICT was increased by 17% year-on-year to 2.74 trillion won, and the number of new projects was expanded from 3,772 to 7,022.

In particular, the long-awaited R&D preliminary feasibility study system was abolished after 18 years, drastically reducing the period from project proposal submission to budget allocation and adjustment from two years to just five months. In addition, the project-based system (PBS), which had spurred excessive competition for orders, has been abolished. A new 10% discretionary research expense category was created, and the number of administrative forms for indirect expenses was streamlined by over 90%, from 2,171 to 154.

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

With the ministry’s elevation to the rank of Deputy Prime Minister’s office for the first time in 17 years, the Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting, launched in November last year, is now serving as a cross-ministerial coordination and cooperation platform. The technical management system, previously operated separately by each ministry, has been integrated and reorganized, and AI transformation (AX) support is being provided to all ministries.

For companies experiencing repeated security breaches, the “Information and Communications Network Act” was revised in March to allow for thorough investigations and the imposition of punitive fines of up to 3% of annual sales. Additionally, to ensure the public can access basic data without extra financial burden, the “Data Safe Option,” previously available only for mid- and high-priced data plans from the three major telecom companies, has been expanded to all data plans.

Baek Kyunghoon: “Investing Even More Boldly in AI”

Deputy Prime Minister Baek stressed, “If last year was about raising expectations for a better daily life and future through science, technology, and AI, the second year will focus on creating synergy and results by linking the policies we have been pursuing. In the AI sector, we will invest even more boldly to further consolidate our capabilities as one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses.”

He particularly emphasized the full-scale implementation of the “AI for All Project,” which will provide AI services based on independent AI models to the entire population free of charge. The project will also be applied to nationwide AI education and to both public and private AX initiatives to enhance tangible benefits for the public. To promote the use of Korean AI semiconductors, the ministry plans to actively secure large-scale references and further strengthen the K-AI ecosystem.

To respond to high-performance and high-risk AI cyber threats, an emergency task force for the private sector will be established, and vulnerability and patch management will be unified. The ministry plans to pursue a major transition to an AI security system by securing security sovereignty based on independent AI technology and spreading zero-trust architecture.

In the field of science and technology, the ministry aims to firmly establish a challenging R&D ecosystem and advance Korea into the world’s top five science and technology powerhouses. To this end, it will announce the “6th Basic Plan for Science and Technology” and the “2nd National R&D Mid- to Long-term Investment Strategy.” Furthermore, the ministry will set milestones for each mission of “K-Moonshot,” with the goal of producing major achievements in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, small modular reactors (SMRs), humanoids, quantum technology, and biotechnology.

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