BCG: "South Korea Joins AI Pioneers for First Time"... Alongside U.S. and China

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report
South Korea and Japan join the United States, China, the United Kingdom and others in the top tier of AI leaders
Reached the top tier two years after the 2024 survey
"Distinguished itself in developing its own AI models... pursued large-scale public investment"

A market research report has found that South Korea belongs to the world’s top tier of AI-leading countries, alongside the United States and China, widely regarded as the two AI powerhouses.

South Korea was named to the top-tier group, “AI Pioneers,” according to “The AI Maturity Matrix 2026,” a report released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on October 20.

AI Maturity Matrix 2026. Boston Consulting Group

South Korea reached the top tier in this assessment, conducted two years after the first survey in 2024. The five countries that were classified as AI Pioneers in the previous survey—the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Canada—retained their positions, while Japan joined South Korea as a new entrant to the top tier.

BCG said South Korea had distinguished itself in developing its own AI models and had pursued large-scale public investment to build computing infrastructure and an AI ecosystem. South Korea had previously ranked among the world’s top five in developing Notable AI Models in Stanford University’s Human-Centered AI Institute’s (Stanford HAI) “2026 AI Index.”

BCG’s report assessed the AI maturity of each economy based on “AI Exposure,” the potential impact of AI on major industries and jobs, and “AI Readiness,” the level of preparedness to capitalize on the opportunities AI creates. The findings showed that nearly every economy had made progress in at least one area of AI readiness. Eight economies, including South Korea and Japan, advanced to a higher tier than in the 2024 survey.

BCG said that, with AI strategies already in place across economies, the speed of execution had emerged as a key factor. Jörg Hildebrandt, BCG’s global public sector leader and a co-author of the report, said, “Economies that improved their AI readiness this year show that government execution is essential to turning AI strategies into practical capabilities.” He added, “As economies that accelerate AI transformation in key industries will gain a competitive edge, securing advanced AI talent and expanding private investment must go hand in hand.”

Hwang Hyungjun, head of BCG Korea, said, “South Korea’s entry into the group of global AI leaders shows that it has made meaningful progress in building its AI capabilities and ecosystem. The key challenge for Korean companies now is to turn this foundation into tangible industrial competitiveness and business results.”

He added, “South Korea has a globally competitive manufacturing base, as well as data and operational know-how accumulated on the industrial front lines. By combining these strengths with AI, the country can explore new growth opportunities in industrial AI and physical AI.”

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