Government to Select Final Two Dokpamo Companies in February Next Year... Frontier AI Development to Proceed with 'Two-Track' Approach

Ministry of Science and ICT: "Dokpamo Will Continue"

Frontier AI Project Operators to Be Selected in February–March Next Year

Ryu Jemyung, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, held a press conference on the 2nd at the large conference room of the Korea National Information Society Agency (NIA) Seoul office regarding the "Dokpamo Project and the Direction of Frontier AI," stating, "The Dokpamo project will proceed as planned, and at the same time, the development of Frontier AI will also be promoted." Photo by Seo Sojung.

The government plans to select two final companies as scheduled in the third phase evaluation of the "Dokpamo" project, an independent artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model development initiative, in February next year. In addition, with the emergence of "Mythos," AI has risen to the status of a national strategic technology, making possession of Frontier AI a crucial factor in national competitiveness. Accordingly, the government will begin full-scale development of world-class Frontier AI. While the Dokpamo project will proceed as planned, the government’s "two-track strategy" is to broaden the AI ecosystem by concurrently running a separate Frontier AI development project. This approach is designed to allow various companies—including small and medium-sized enterprises and startups—to participate, rather than concentrating benefits on a select few companies.

Ryu Jemyung, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, held a press conference on the 2nd at the main conference hall of the Korea National Information Society Agency (NIA) Seoul office regarding the "Dokpamo Project and the Direction of Frontier AI." He stated, "The Dokpamo project will proceed as scheduled and, at the same time, development of Frontier AI will also move forward." He further explained, "While the two projects will be promoted separately, each is an independent AI model development project. The goal for independent AI model development will be further strengthened, and its scope and depth are set to expand significantly going forward."

This press conference was held amidst growing controversy over whether the government’s Frontier AI development plan signaled an effective suspension of the Dokpamo project. Vice Minister Ryu emphasized, "The Dokpamo project is by no means being halted," and added, "The ongoing Dokpamo project will conduct the third-phase evaluation in February next year, during which two elite teams will be selected. It will go ahead as planned." Support for the two selected teams, including GPU provisioning, will proceed as scheduled, he explained.

However, Ryu noted that the full-scale launch of Frontier AI development is a separate initiative from Dokpamo, and that these changes in policy were made in response to the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.

Vice Minister Ryu Jemyung: "Fundamental Change Needed Since the Emergence of Mythos"

Reiterating that there is a consensus between the government and the private sector on the need to develop Frontier AI, Vice Minister Ryu said, "Since the emergence of Mythos in April, the AI economy has entered a completely new dimension. What we designed before, based on the prior AI competition, fundamentally needs to change. Considering the enormous AI investments currently being made by the United States and China, there is consensus that only a fundamentally new level of investment will allow us to compete. It is not just a matter of minor tweaks, but of transformative investment." Although the Dokpamo project will continue, the government is carefully reviewing ways to flexibly improve elements like the moving-target development goals, support scale, and methods as outlined in the notice.

Asked about concerns that shifting policies could undermine trust in government initiatives, Vice Minister Ryu explained that the exponential progress of global AI technology since the appearance of Mythos requires not mere policy adjustments but a fundamental rethinking of the entire paradigm. He added, "Given this paradigm shift in the landscape of global AI competition, we are considering various policy options. Unlike previous shifts, the government has the responsibility to continually deliberate and respond flexibly to the dramatically changed AI landscape."

In the future, the Frontier AI development project will allow the participation of a wide spectrum of enterprises, including not only the final Dokpamo teams and unsuccessful candidates, but also large corporations and startups. Whether or not to participate in the Frontier AI project will be entirely up to the companies, and the two final "elite teams" selected through Dokpamo will afterward have the opportunity to make management decisions as needed. Vice Minister Ryu stated, "Once the public call for the Frontier AI development project is announced, the government will be thorough in ensuring that any incentives given to the two final companies selected for the Frontier AI model are reasonable as compared to other competitors, reflecting sufficient stakeholder feedback. However, we will make sure that resource distribution does not become distorted due to preferential consideration of the two Dokpamo-finalist companies."

The Ministry of Science and ICT repeatedly emphasized that the Frontier AI project is not intended to absorb Dokpamo, but is a distinct, parallel initiative. There will be no predetermined business structure for participating companies in the Frontier AI project, and a fair public call and selection process is being considered as the method for government investment.

Ryu Jemyung, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is announcing the results of the second evaluation of the independent AI Foundation Model Project on August 18 at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2026.8.18 Photo by Jo Yongjun

"Frontier AI Project: A Support System for SMEs, Startups, and More"

Regarding the Frontier AI project, the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Under the project’s equity investment structure, priority will be placed on the probability of success rather than financial strength. This is not a project exclusively for large corporations with substantial capital. Instead, it will be a support platform that enables proactive participation from diverse companies—including small and medium-sized enterprises and startups. The aim is to create a structure that encourages the engagement of multiple companies, universities, and researchers."

On the topic of potentially establishing a special purpose company (SPC) to drive Frontier AI development, the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "We are considering a plan whereby equity investment would be conducted following a public call and selection process. The investment targets may take a variety of forms. We are taking a technical approach in detailing the criteria for public calls and other specifics to best support the policy objectives intended by the government."

Clarifying the meaning behind the statement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyunghoon that "the Dokpamo project should be used to create a broader ecosystem," the ministry said, "Alongside carrying out the Dokpamo initiative as planned, we are broadly considering ways to further expand Dokpamo’s deployment across various industries and research fields—including additional GPU provisioning and support measures for a diverse group of companies. The plan is to further evolve and develop Dokpamo toward a broader and deeper domestic AI ecosystem."

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