Korean companies pledge to invest 65 trillion won in AI at presidential committee's inaugural meeting

Korean companies pledged to invest some 65 trillion won ($48.9 billion) in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2027 as President Yoon Suk Yeol convened the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee on AI in Seoul on Thursday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks at the inauguration ceremony and first meeting of the Presidential Committee on AI at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korean companies pledged to invest some 65 trillion won ($48.9 billion) in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2027 as President Yoon Suk Yeol convened the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee on AI in Seoul on Thursday.

Korea plans to build a national AI computing center worth some 2 trillion won through public-private partnership to "serve as the core infrastructure for AI research and development and industry development," Yoon said at the committee's launching ceremony.

Yoon took part in the inaugural ceremony and first meeting of the Presidential Committee on AI, which will serve as the central body for establishing national AI policy and presenting the national AI blueprint to the public.

The national AI computing center will expand graphics processing units (GPU) to more than two exaflops, or 15 times the current size, Park Sang-wook, presidential secretary for science and technology, said in a briefing.

The private sector will begin investing the 65 trillion won in AI development starting this year over the next four years, while the government will, in turn, actively support private investments through special tax incentives for related companies, Park said.

In his opening remarks, Yoon declared his "grand vision of Korea becoming one of the top three AI powerhouses," announcing a "national all-out effort" to this end.

He said that the presidential committee will lead this transformation, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of AI in the country.

Yoon noted that global AI experts rank the top five AI powers as the United States, China, Singapore, France, the United Kingdom and South Korea. He added that Korea entering the top three is "a challenge we can take on."

Focusing on the theme,"Transformative Leap of the Republic of Korea," the meeting was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul, where retired professional Go player Lee Sedol lost 1-4 in a historic Go match against Google DeepMind's AI program AlphaGo in March 2016.

The 43-member AI committee, chaired by the president, is comprised of 10 senior government officials and thirty members from the private sector appointed based on their expertise and leadership in the field of AI, the senior presidential secretary for science and technology and the third deputy director of the National Security Office. Yeom Jae-ho, president of Taejae University, was appointed committee vice chairman.

It aims to bridge the public and private sectors and coordinate the nation's innovation capabilities.

Participants discussed Korea's AI capabilities, support for expanded private sector investment, securing infrastructure and talents for the AI era, nationwide AI transformation, ensuring AI safety and security and resolving issues related to data copyright and privacy, the presidential office said in a statement.

Kwak Noh-jung, president and CEO of SK hynix, spoke of the private sector's AI investment plans and made policy suggestions to the government.

The presidential office said the government also plans to establish an AI Safety Institute in November to specialize in AI-related crimes, such as deepfakes. It will also enact an AI act to better regulate the AI sphere.

In April, Yoon announced plans to launch the new presidential committee as he announced his AI-semiconductor initiative, pledging to invest 9.4 trillion won in AI and related chips by 2027 and set up a 1.4 trillion fund to develop innovative AI chipmakers.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]