The Ministry of Science and ICT has officially launched a research and development project aimed at developing core technologies for agentic artificial intelligence (AI).
On July 30, the Ministry and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) held a kickoff meeting for the 'Real-World Active Behavior Agentic AI Technology Development' project at the AI·SW Maestro Seoul Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
This initiative is a key task under the government's recently announced 'Agentic AI Initiative,' which aims to develop agentic AI technologies capable of autonomously planning and executing complex tasks, ultimately leading to real-world service implementation.
Hong Jin-bae, head of IITP, stated, "This project serves as a catalyst to directly realize the government's 'Agentic AI Initiative' on the ground, and we will lead the agentic AI ecosystem in South Korea in collaboration with 26 industry, academia, and research institutions."
The project involves four leading organizations: NC AI, Medical Park, Simsim, and VENG. Additionally, Korea University, Yonsei University, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) will participate in joint research.
Medical Park plans to develop an 'Agentic AI Breast Ultrasound' that performs the entire ultrasound examination process at the level of a skilled examiner. NC AI aims to implement an 'Agentic AI Digital Work Companion' that autonomously understands and manages tasks related to corporate ERP, email, and calendars.
Simsim will introduce a 'Daily Companion and Empathetic Partner' that interacts with users to support their daily lives. VENG will work on building an 'Agentic AI Simulator' based on the MCP standard for multi-agent collaboration.
The Ministry will invest a total of 18 billion won (approximately $13.5 million) over the next 18 months, with a phase evaluation scheduled for the end of 2027. Hong emphasized, "We will actively promote a flexible and challenging R&D management system that responds quickly to changes in the technological environment through a 'moving target' approach."
The ultimate goal is to develop a prototype that achieves a technology readiness level (TRL) of 7, which can be validated in real-world environments and lead to commercialization.
Lee Jin-soo, Director of AI Policy Planning at the Ministry, remarked, "In the era of agentic AI, securing core technologies that enable AI to make judgments and execute actions in real environments is crucial. We will actively support this project to enhance South Korea's competitiveness in agentic AI technology and lead innovation."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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