“The success in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) depends on how well we connect data and enable context understanding. Our country must establish a Korean-style 'K-Ontology' to secure competitiveness in the physical AI era.”
Park Young-sun, chair of the Strategic Economic Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, emphasized this during her keynote speech at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Leaders Forum policy discussion held at the Lotte Hotel Jeju in Seogwipo on October 21.
Speaking on the theme 'AI's Second Act: Transforming the Future of SMEs,' she identified data connectivity and utilization as key factors determining the success of AI transformation. Ontology is a technology that connects the meanings and relationships of data scattered across different systems so that AI can understand them. Park stressed the need for a 'K-Ontology' that organizes national and industrial data for AI comprehension.
She also proposed collaborative manufacturing data construction and assetization through cooperatives. “The Korea Federation of SMEs already has an organization that can be efficiently utilized in the AI era,” Park said, urging the government to support research and development (R&D) funding for the federation and to gather data from cooperative members to build sector-specific AI for industries such as casting and information technology.
The forum was attended by Kim Ki-moon, president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, Park Young-sun, Kim Jun-ha, dean of the AI Policy Strategy Graduate School at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Jo Joo-hyun, president of the Small and Medium Venture Business Research Institute, along with over 200 representatives from industry, academia, and government specializing in physical AI and manufacturing AX.
Kim Jun-ha stated, “The core competitiveness in the physical AI era lies in the process data and skilled know-how accumulated on the manufacturing floor,” adding that individual companies should accumulate data while cooperatives should establish common standards and joint verification bases, with the government providing the necessary infrastructure.
He predicted, “Korea is the only country that can teach AI the tacit knowledge of skilled workers across various manufacturing sectors such as shipbuilding, batteries, semiconductors, and automobiles.”
During the panel discussion, various opinions were shared on the dissemination of physical AI among SMEs. Jang Yong-hwan, chairman of the Gyeongin Casting Industrial Cooperative, remarked, “Root SMEs face many manufacturing data challenges and problems but lack the workforce and investment capacity for AI,” emphasizing the need for expanded participation of SMEs in government R&D and demonstration projects, along with support for long-term verification and operation in actual factories.
Oh Min-seok, vice president of Megazone Corp., noted, “Simply supporting the purchase of robots or solutions will not be enough for physical AI to take root in the field,” stressing the necessity for regional and sector-specific joint infrastructure that can support everything from data preparation to on-site application and maintenance. Jang Young-jae, director of the Manufacturing Physical AI Research Institute at KAIST, described physical AI as 'manufacturing intelligence' that integrates and operates the entire factory, proposing a model called 'Everyone's AI Factory Manager' that starts with small demonstrations and spreads verified AI models by industry.
Kim Ki-moon, president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, emphasized the importance of transforming the technology and experience of SMEs into data that AI can utilize, connecting it to physical AI to preserve decades of accumulated tacit manufacturing know-how. He called for the design of step-by-step support policies suitable for SMEs to actively participate in the AI transformation and for rapid dissemination of AI centered around sector-specific cooperatives.
Park Young-sun, chair of the Strategic Economic Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, emphasized this during her keynote speech at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Leaders Forum policy discussion held at the Lotte Hotel Jeju in Seogwipo on October 21.
Speaking on the theme 'AI's Second Act: Transforming the Future of SMEs,' she identified data connectivity and utilization as key factors determining the success of AI transformation. Ontology is a technology that connects the meanings and relationships of data scattered across different systems so that AI can understand them. Park stressed the need for a 'K-Ontology' that organizes national and industrial data for AI comprehension.
She also proposed collaborative manufacturing data construction and assetization through cooperatives. “The Korea Federation of SMEs already has an organization that can be efficiently utilized in the AI era,” Park said, urging the government to support research and development (R&D) funding for the federation and to gather data from cooperative members to build sector-specific AI for industries such as casting and information technology.
The forum was attended by Kim Ki-moon, president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, Park Young-sun, Kim Jun-ha, dean of the AI Policy Strategy Graduate School at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Jo Joo-hyun, president of the Small and Medium Venture Business Research Institute, along with over 200 representatives from industry, academia, and government specializing in physical AI and manufacturing AX.
Kim Jun-ha stated, “The core competitiveness in the physical AI era lies in the process data and skilled know-how accumulated on the manufacturing floor,” adding that individual companies should accumulate data while cooperatives should establish common standards and joint verification bases, with the government providing the necessary infrastructure.
He predicted, “Korea is the only country that can teach AI the tacit knowledge of skilled workers across various manufacturing sectors such as shipbuilding, batteries, semiconductors, and automobiles.”
During the panel discussion, various opinions were shared on the dissemination of physical AI among SMEs. Jang Yong-hwan, chairman of the Gyeongin Casting Industrial Cooperative, remarked, “Root SMEs face many manufacturing data challenges and problems but lack the workforce and investment capacity for AI,” emphasizing the need for expanded participation of SMEs in government R&D and demonstration projects, along with support for long-term verification and operation in actual factories.
Oh Min-seok, vice president of Megazone Corp., noted, “Simply supporting the purchase of robots or solutions will not be enough for physical AI to take root in the field,” stressing the necessity for regional and sector-specific joint infrastructure that can support everything from data preparation to on-site application and maintenance. Jang Young-jae, director of the Manufacturing Physical AI Research Institute at KAIST, described physical AI as 'manufacturing intelligence' that integrates and operates the entire factory, proposing a model called 'Everyone's AI Factory Manager' that starts with small demonstrations and spreads verified AI models by industry.
Kim Ki-moon, president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, emphasized the importance of transforming the technology and experience of SMEs into data that AI can utilize, connecting it to physical AI to preserve decades of accumulated tacit manufacturing know-how. He called for the design of step-by-step support policies suitable for SMEs to actively participate in the AI transformation and for rapid dissemination of AI centered around sector-specific cooperatives.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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