“To transition to artificial intelligence (AX), significant costs are unavoidable, starting from attaching labels and sensors for data accumulation, installing closed-circuit televisions (CCTV), to hiring personnel for data refinement and utilization, and purchasing robots,” said a representative from a manufacturing company in Daegu.
This sentiment was echoed in a recent survey conducted by the Main Biz Association, which involved 307 main business companies across the country. According to the association, 71.4% of responding companies acknowledged the necessity of adopting and utilizing AI for securing competitiveness and sustainable growth. However, only 17.6% of these companies are currently developing concrete plans for expanding and advancing AI adoption within the next two years. Additionally, 33.6% of respondents recognized the need for AI but reported having no specific plans in place.
During the consideration and preparation stages for AI adoption, the main challenges identified were a lack of suitable AI use cases (49.2%) and uncertainty regarding expected benefits and investment returns (31.6%). In the implementation and validation stages, difficulties in modifying systems to fit specific job characteristics (44.6%) and challenges in integrating existing systems and data (38.5%) were highlighted as significant obstacles.
While step-by-step investments are necessary for discovering initial use cases, building systems, and securing operational costs and capabilities, small businesses face a much greater burden compared to large corporations. A survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that 73.6% of responding manufacturing companies feel pressured by AI investment costs, with small businesses (79.7%) expressing more concern than large companies (57.1%).
Calls for tailored, step-by-step support for AI adoption are growing, alongside demands for regulatory reforms to facilitate investment in cutting-edge technologies like AX for small businesses.
In the new industry sector, regulations surrounding personal data and copyright are seen as major barriers to acquiring the data necessary for AI development. For physical AI applications, such as robotics and drones, capturing video and behavioral data in real environments is essential, yet current regulations limit their utilization. Advocates argue that related systems should be reformed to align with those of leading countries.
There have also been ongoing concerns regarding delays in legal adjustments following regulatory sandbox trials. Regulatory sandboxes allow new industries or technologies to test in the market under a temporary suspension of existing regulations. However, if legal adjustments are delayed despite no significant risks arising from trial exceptions, companies may face uncertainty in formalizing their businesses.
Won So-yeon, head of the Regulatory Policy Research Office at the Korea Administrative Research Institute, stated, “The Regulatory Rationalization Committee should be empowered to regularly review and adjust the issues related to delays in legal adjustments. There is also a need to clarify the criteria for legal adjustments at the trial approval stage.”
Regarding the growth of small businesses, easing regulations on the KOSDAQ market is a key issue. The industry is concerned that delays in listing reviews increase costs and administrative burdens for companies, while criteria for delisting are rapidly tightening, potentially pushing even normally operating small and venture businesses out of the market. There are calls to assess delisting not solely based on market capitalization and stock prices but to consider financial status, technological capability, and growth potential comprehensively.
There are also demands to improve the lock-up practices for newly listed KOSDAQ companies. The venture capital sector argues that prolonged voluntary lock-ups beyond mandatory requirements delay the recovery of venture investments and reduce the capacity for new investments, necessitating a reduction in the burden of lock-ups on long-term investments.
Furthermore, there are ongoing calls to relax industry restrictions in local industrial complexes and to expand small business participation in government-supported mega-projects, such as large AI data centers. In aging industrial complexes, past restrictions on resident industries do not reflect current industrial structural changes, prompting calls to broaden industry exceptions and to establish incentives for prioritizing small business products in government-supported large projects through procurement and tax benefits.
This sentiment was echoed in a recent survey conducted by the Main Biz Association, which involved 307 main business companies across the country. According to the association, 71.4% of responding companies acknowledged the necessity of adopting and utilizing AI for securing competitiveness and sustainable growth. However, only 17.6% of these companies are currently developing concrete plans for expanding and advancing AI adoption within the next two years. Additionally, 33.6% of respondents recognized the need for AI but reported having no specific plans in place.
During the consideration and preparation stages for AI adoption, the main challenges identified were a lack of suitable AI use cases (49.2%) and uncertainty regarding expected benefits and investment returns (31.6%). In the implementation and validation stages, difficulties in modifying systems to fit specific job characteristics (44.6%) and challenges in integrating existing systems and data (38.5%) were highlighted as significant obstacles.
While step-by-step investments are necessary for discovering initial use cases, building systems, and securing operational costs and capabilities, small businesses face a much greater burden compared to large corporations. A survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that 73.6% of responding manufacturing companies feel pressured by AI investment costs, with small businesses (79.7%) expressing more concern than large companies (57.1%).
Calls for tailored, step-by-step support for AI adoption are growing, alongside demands for regulatory reforms to facilitate investment in cutting-edge technologies like AX for small businesses.
In the new industry sector, regulations surrounding personal data and copyright are seen as major barriers to acquiring the data necessary for AI development. For physical AI applications, such as robotics and drones, capturing video and behavioral data in real environments is essential, yet current regulations limit their utilization. Advocates argue that related systems should be reformed to align with those of leading countries.
There have also been ongoing concerns regarding delays in legal adjustments following regulatory sandbox trials. Regulatory sandboxes allow new industries or technologies to test in the market under a temporary suspension of existing regulations. However, if legal adjustments are delayed despite no significant risks arising from trial exceptions, companies may face uncertainty in formalizing their businesses.
Won So-yeon, head of the Regulatory Policy Research Office at the Korea Administrative Research Institute, stated, “The Regulatory Rationalization Committee should be empowered to regularly review and adjust the issues related to delays in legal adjustments. There is also a need to clarify the criteria for legal adjustments at the trial approval stage.”
Regarding the growth of small businesses, easing regulations on the KOSDAQ market is a key issue. The industry is concerned that delays in listing reviews increase costs and administrative burdens for companies, while criteria for delisting are rapidly tightening, potentially pushing even normally operating small and venture businesses out of the market. There are calls to assess delisting not solely based on market capitalization and stock prices but to consider financial status, technological capability, and growth potential comprehensively.
There are also demands to improve the lock-up practices for newly listed KOSDAQ companies. The venture capital sector argues that prolonged voluntary lock-ups beyond mandatory requirements delay the recovery of venture investments and reduce the capacity for new investments, necessitating a reduction in the burden of lock-ups on long-term investments.
Furthermore, there are ongoing calls to relax industry restrictions in local industrial complexes and to expand small business participation in government-supported mega-projects, such as large AI data centers. In aging industrial complexes, past restrictions on resident industries do not reflect current industrial structural changes, prompting calls to broaden industry exceptions and to establish incentives for prioritizing small business products in government-supported large projects through procurement and tax benefits.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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