[Exclusive] Samsung, 3 Major Telecoms, Naver, and Kakao 'AI Avengers' Gather in One Place

[Asia Economy reporters Seulgina Jo and Aeri Boo] "Beyond an IT powerhouse to an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse..."

Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus, Naver, Kakao, the six 'AI Avengers,' will gather at the end of this month to showcase their AI capabilities. It has been one year since President Moon Jae-in announced the 'AI National Strategy' and declared the leap to becoming the top AI nation last year. Since the event is hosted by the government, a comprehensive review of the AI competitiveness of Korean companies is expected. Companies facing an AI talent shortage are likely to request government support for talent acquisition.

AI Avengers, Assessing Global Competitiveness

According to the government and industry on the 17th, six leading ICT companies?Samsung Electronics, the three mobile carriers, Naver, and Kakao?will participate in a government-hosted event next week to introduce their AI strategies and research and development (R&D) status. It is an opportunity to review the achievements over the past year since the AI National Strategy was announced and to secure new AI growth strategies.

The six companies participating in the event share the commonality of having concentrated their capabilities in the AI field over recent years. Samsung Electronics is recognized for leading the 'human-centered AI implementation' by integrating AI into various products such as semiconductors, smartphones, and home appliances. The AI semiconductor being developed under the leadership of SK Telecom is also a key goal of the AI National Strategy (aiming to be number one in AI semiconductors).

Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, and Kakao have also formed an 'AI alliance.' This is a coalition to avoid falling behind global giants like Google and Amazon. KT and LG Uplus have established the 'AI One Team,' an industry-academia-research consortium, to accelerate technology development. Naver has demonstrated its research capabilities by publishing more than 40 papers at the world's top AI conferences this year through AI research organizations such as Naver Labs.

Industry analysts say this event reflects President Moon’s determination to consolidate national capabilities to secure AI supremacy. Attendees include Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young, a 'semiconductor expert' who led industry-academia cooperation on AI semiconductors during his time as a Seoul National University professor, and Yoon Sung-ro, chairman of the 4th Industrial Revolution Committee and an AI authority. A government official said, "This will be an occasion to accelerate AI technology development, which is central to the 4th Industrial Revolution, and to encourage related companies at the government level."

Industry Complains of Talent Shortage Amid AI Drive

At this event, companies are expected to request measures from the government to resolve the talent shortage. To achieve the Moon administration’s goal of becoming the top AI nation, securing AI talent must be done proactively, but the reality is otherwise. Han Seong-sook, CEO of Naver, recently told Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, "Even if we want to hire, there are no developers to hire." Yeo Min-soo, co-CEO of Kakao, appealed, "There is plenty of data, and equipment for analysis can be bought with money. But we need people who understand, process, analyze, and apply the data."

Compared to the US, China, and Japan, Korea’s AI talent competitiveness is less than half. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, the domestic AI workforce shortage rate was 60.6%. The Software Policy & Research Institute estimated that by 2022, nearly 10,000 personnel would be lacking in the domestic AI software sector alone. Korea also lags behind in talent competitiveness such as expertise. When the AI talent competitiveness of the US, which leads the AI industry, is rated as 10, Korea is only at half (5.2). China is at 8.1, and Japan at 6.0.

The Moon administration also views this shortage of AI professionals seriously and plans to reform the education system focusing on software and AI, but there is a long way to go. As AI rapidly permeates all aspects of life such as healthcare and welfare, concerns are rising that the talent shortage will worsen in the future. AI expert Professor Lee Kyung-jun of Kyung Hee University suggested, "Government-led AI retraining is one method," citing the example of the 1997 International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial crisis when the government provided internet education to the unemployed to cultivate internet experts as a good precedent."