Minister of Science and Technology Yusangim: "AI Basic Act Must Be Passed Quickly for Korea"

On the 11th, Minister Yoo said, "Please support the AI Basic Act"
Regarding the global R&D budget cuts, "Supplementary budget under consideration"

Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT, emphasized that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Basic Act, which is currently stalled in the National Assembly due to the martial law situation, must be passed promptly for the development of Korea.

On the morning of the 11th, Minister Yoo met with reporters at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, and said about the AI Basic Act, "It needs to be passed quickly for the country," adding, "Since the procedures are almost complete, it seems it will be finalized soon once it goes through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee." He also added, "Please support us."

The AI Basic Act, which was expected to be enacted within the year, has become uncertain due to the National Assembly entering an impeachment crisis amid the martial law situation. Minister Yoo has been emphasizing the necessity of the AI Basic Act for the development of the AI industry.

At the '2024 K-Science & Technology Global Forum,' which Minister Yoo attended that day, Yann LeCun, Meta’s Chief AI Scientist and a professor at New York University, known as a global AI scholar, delivered a keynote speech stating that an open-source AI platform is necessary for AI development.

In response, Minister Yoo said, "Open source is one option, and we need to consider various approaches such as cloud," adding, "It is important for us (the government) to provide a foundation that allows the private sector to be more active." He further explained, "It is very important to quickly set up computing infrastructure so that our researchers can study new technologies such as software and algorithms."

When asked, "Is there a response plan to the reduction in global research and development (R&D) budgets regardless of the exchange rate issue?" he replied, "Since the current situation is not acceptable, it seems that a supplementary budget is being seriously considered."