"AI agents will support the daily lives of all citizens and create an AI society where no one is left behind," said Ryu Je-myung, the Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, during the 'ABC Launch Celebration AI Ecosystem Innovation Forum' held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on July 9.
Ryu expressed his heartfelt congratulations on the launch of AI-focused broadcasting network ABC and stated, "I am pleased to be part of this meaningful event, the AI Ecosystem Innovation Forum."
He noted that global competition in AI is expanding into an investment race. "Currently, the global AI competition has escalated into an astronomical investment competition," Ryu explained, adding that the combined investment in AI infrastructure by the four major U.S. tech companies—Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta—amounts to approximately 1,000 trillion won. He emphasized that the future industrial hegemony will ultimately depend on who secures leadership in AI technology.
Ryu assessed that South Korea's AI competitiveness is rapidly increasing. According to the Stanford AI Index, South Korea ranks third globally in the number of AI models, moving up one spot from last year. He pointed out that AI is quickly spreading into daily life, industries, and public sectors. He mentioned that AI is being utilized in various areas, from responding to voice phishing in telecommunications to semiconductor production at SK Hynix, and that collaborations with global companies like NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind are expanding.
To support this competitiveness, Ryu highlighted the establishment of a regulatory framework, stating, "We have laid the institutional groundwork for the AI ecosystem through the implementation of the AI Basic Act and the enactment of the Special Act on AI Data Centers."
He announced that the government aims to further enhance AI competitiveness through three major mega projects. Ryu mentioned plans to develop the southwestern semiconductor and Chungcheong advanced packaging clusters into global industrial hubs and to establish a Korean-style AI industrial ecosystem that organically combines semiconductors, AI, and physical AI.
The government is focused on strengthening AI competitiveness in areas such as AI infrastructure, AI model capabilities, and next-generation AI. Ryu noted, "We are preparing to establish a public-private joint venture special purpose company (SPC) for the construction of a national AI computing center," and emphasized the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of domestic neural processing units (NPUs) and localizing key equipment for AI data centers.
He also stated, "We will invest more boldly to secure world-class AI models and strengthen investments in next-generation AI technologies like agentic AI to become a country that leads and rapidly utilizes the future AI market."
Ryu emphasized that the government will push forward with the 'Everyone's AI' project without delay this year. He stated, "We will ensure that all citizens can learn AI as they do with Korean and arithmetic, and use it like a calculator, launching an era of one AI agent per person."
Ryu concluded by asserting, "South Korea is a nation with semiconductor manufacturing capabilities that the world envies, continuous innovation, excellent talent, and a dynamic market. We will not just follow the AI era but will create a new industrial order." He expressed hope that the AI Ecosystem Innovation Forum would serve as a meaningful opportunity to discuss the direction of South Korea's AI ecosystem development.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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