Prof. Cho Sung-bae says Korea must collaborate in AI race

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Prof. Cho Sung-bae says Korea must collaborate in AI race

Published: 20 Mar. 2025, 18:48 Updated: 20 Mar. 2025, 20:42

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Cho Sung-bae, chair of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee under the Presidential Committee on AI (PCAI), speaks during the 2025 Korea Economic Forum at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, on March 20. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A subcommittee chair of the Presidential Committee on AI (PCAI) said Korea will need to join hands with other “third-tier” countries in the technology sector to have any hope of denting U.S. and Chinese dominance in the artificial intelligence space.

“Except for the top two countries, every other country is placed in the third spot when it comes to AI advancement,” Cho Sung-bae, chair of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee under the PCAI, said Thursday at the 2025 Korea Economic Forum in central Seoul.

“If we raise the needed funds and computing resources [by ourselves], we have less chance to be successful. That’s why we need global collaboration and solidarity,” Cho said. “Seoul is targeting major universities and tech companies in the U.S. for collaboration, but it is not as successful. My suggestion is for second tier and third tier countries to collaborate to create common competitive AI resources, as well as research agendas, to pursue together.”

The PCAI, established in September 2024, coordinates national AI strategies and oversees related projects, which receive the majority of their funding from the private sector. It is currently collaborating with tech firms on four flagship projects, valued at more than 67 trillion won ($45.9 billion) as part of a goal to become one of the world's top three AI producers by 2027, a vision the committee unveiled on the day of its inauguration last year.

The blueprint for the four state-funded projects includes the building of cutting-edge computing infrastructure, acceleration of AI adoption, nurturing of top talent and strengthening of AI ethics. Cho emphasized that their success will require support from both the public and private sectors, as well as global cooperation.

The initiative to establish computing infrastructure involves collecting 10,000 GPUs this year for the launch of a state-backed AI computing center by 2027, which has sparked a fierce bidding competition among cities like Gwangju, Daegu and Pohang, North Gyeongsang. The winning city or region stands to gain significant economic benefits, including job creation and population growth, as the government-led facility drives regional development. Seoul is spending as much as 2.5 trillion won on the project.

Cho Sung-bae, Chair of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee under the Presidential Committee on AI (PCAI), speaks during the 2025 Korea Economic Forum held at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on March 20. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Korea's private sector plans to invest a total of 65 trillion won in AI by 2027, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced in September 2024. The ministry hopes to see adoption rates of 70 across industry and 95 percent in the public sector by 2030.

Cho cited Agentic AI, which structures AI processes by assigning specialized roles to multiple agents rather than relying solely on a single large language model (LLM) to handle all tasks, as a real-world example of how the technology is already integrated into daily life.

“A compelling demonstration of this concept was publicly released late last month,” Cho said, referring to a recent viral YouTube video in which two AI agents from audio startup ElevenLabs called each other about a hotel booking and switched to a higher-speed standard after identifying each other as inhuman.

“The demo showcased how AI agents could act on behalf of a user,” Cho said. “They found a way to bypass the need for human language and communicated using a format that was more efficient.”

Cho repeatedly urged nationwide solidarity among the private and public sectors at the forum, requesting cooperation from some 40 diplomatic representatives, including ambassadors, to further technological advancement.

“AI is no longer just an optional tool for development — it has become a necessity,” he said. “Today's gathering highlights that this is not merely a matter of competition. AI should be seen as a means to advance humanity and achieve social progress. Multiple nations must come together in a cooperative effort to drive meaningful development and work toward shared global goals.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]