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Korea aims to develop 'world-class' AI model through new initiative

Published: 20 Feb. 2025, 17:05

SHIN HA-NEE
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Acting President and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok speaks during a National Artificial Intelligence Committee meeting in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 20. [MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE]

Korea aims to build an advanced AI model that rivals global front-runners with a goal of becoming one of the world’s top three players in the field, acting President Choi Sang-mok said.

“The government will focus our support on developing a world-class AI model, and bolster our push to foster and attract talent,” Choi said in his opening remarks at a National Artificial Intelligence Committee meeting on Thursday with senior government officials, academic experts and representatives from the private sector, including Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, in attendance.

With countries across the globe aggressively announcing major investments to secure AI leadership, the Korean government promised to ramp up its support in research and development (R&D) and infrastructure expansion, as well as to introduce tax incentives for AI-related investments.

The plan includes launching a new project to build a world-class large language model and expanding the operations of the newly-opened Global AI Frontier Lab — jointly established by the Korean government and New York University last year — in the United States to other countries.

“While the fast-changing global AI landscape has been creating a sense of heightened threat, this presents a new opportunity for us to accelerate AI advancements through public-private cooperation, in order to position ourselves as one of the world’s three AI powerhouses,” Choi said

The government will also enhance tax benefits and regulatory support for AI companies to encourage investments in R&D and infrastructure, including data centers.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, earlier this week, announced plans to acquire 18,000 high-performance GPUs by the first half of next year. The government initially plans to secure 10,000 GPUs within this year for the launch of a new national AI computing center in 2027, the Ministry of Science and ICT said in a press release. Separately, it will secure 8,000 GPUs by June next year to establish the country's sixth supercomputer. The move aims swiftly build up the country's AI infrastructure and turn it into one of three global powers in the field, it said without elaborating.

To build the state AI center, the government will have the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) extend low-rate policy loans, worth up to 2.5 trillion won ($1.7 billion), to private companies to join the construction project, a ministry official said over the phone.

“The AI center is scheduled to open in 2027 but the government plans to start service this year to provide timely help to local businesses and researchers in the field,” he said.

The government aims to increase the ratio of domestically produced semiconductors used in the upcoming AI center to 50 percent by 2030, the ministry said.

GPUs play a crucial role in AI, delivering top-tier performance for AI training and inference. They also provide significant advantages across various applications that require accelerated computing.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]