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Candidates' tech savvy questioned over campaign pledges to invest big in AI

Published: 20 Apr. 2025, 19:15 Updated: 20 Apr. 2025, 19:49

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and Han Dong-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) [NEWS1]

With the June 3 presidential election approaching, candidates are engaged in a numbers-driven policy contest, especially regarding AI.

After the Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung pledged 100 trillion won ($70.5 billion) in investment in AI, People Power Party's (PPP) Han Dong-hoon countered with 200 trillion won, while Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, who majored in computer science, criticized the trend, saying, “These people don’t understand science and technology.”

Lee unveiled AI as his first campaign pledge on April 14, vowing to “open the era of 100 trillion won in AI investment.” In response, the PPP's Han announced a vision to transform Korea into a top-three AI power by investing 200 trillion won in AI infrastructure.

Another DP candidate, Kim Kyoung-soo, pledged to invest 100 trillion won in AI on April 16, specifying that the funds would be mobilized through public-private partnerships over five years and funded via tax increases.

The competition over investment figures has drawn criticism from within the political sphere, especially from lawmakers from science and engineering backgrounds who have questioned whether liberal arts-trained candidates understand the issues involved.

Ahn Cheol-soo, founder of security firm AhnLab and a PPP lawmaker, criticized Lee on Facebook shortly after the DP front-runner's announcement, saying he doubted “whether Lee truly understands AI.”

Lee Jun-seok, Reform Party presidential candidate, in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on April 16 [JOONGANG ILBO]

“If you don’t know what you’re talking about, please just refrain from speaking,” said Ahn.

“Every time people like Lee Jae-myung or Han Dong-hoon — who lack understanding of science and technology — make a comment, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo seems to respond with the right points,” Lee Jun-seok said on April 14.

“The essence of AI is fostering private investment,” Lee Jun-seok said, calling Lee Jae-myung’s free AI policy “a foolish idea that merely brands AI as part of his ‘free series.’”

“Even more ridiculous is the response of upping the figure to 200 trillion won just because someone else said 100 trillion," Lee Jun-seok said.

Experts echoed the sentiment.

“It is reasonable to argue that Korea, which lacks sufficient capital, technology and talent compared to advanced nations, needs bold investment in AI,” said Professor Lee Seong-yeob of Korea University’s Graduate School of Management of Technology in a phone interview.

However, he pointed to a lack of specificity in the current proposals.

Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate, during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on April 20 [JOONGANG ILBO]

“There’s no clarity on whether we plan to develop new foundation models like ChatGPT or Gemini, or whether we’ll adapt U.S.-developed models for localized applications,” he said. “There’s also no detailed strategy for securing key hardware like AI semiconductors or GPUs.”

Complicated number-driven messaging has been a recurring feature of presidential campaigns.

In the 17th presidential election in 2007, candidates competed over economic growth rates.

Then-candidate Lee Myung-bak promised 7 percent annual growth, compared to 6 percent from Chung Dong-young, 7 percent from Lee In-je, and 8 percent from Moon Kook-hyun.

Lee Myung-bak, who was elected president, championed his “7·4·7” vision — 7 percent annual growth, $40,000 in per capita income and Korea as one of the world’s top seven economies. However, during his presidency (2008–2012), Korea never achieved 7 percent growth, with 6.8 percent in 2010 being the highest figure, partly due to the global financial crisis.

In the 20th presidential election, amid skyrocketing real estate prices under the Moon Jae-in administration, candidates focused on housing supply pledges. Regarding youth housing alone, Yoon Suk Yeol promised 300,000 units, Lee Jae-myung 930,000 and Sim Sang-jung 1 million.

Critics noted the lack of realism, pointing out that Korea’s entire first-generation new town developments in five major urban areas produced just 290,000 units.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY YOON SUNG-MIN [[email protected]]