Ministry of SMEs and Startups Holds Kickoff Meeting for 'SME AI Policy Advisory Group'

11 Policy Advisory Members Attend
Discussion on SME AI Utilization and Expansion Act

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 23rd that it held a kickoff meeting for the 'SME Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Advisory Group' at the Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

This meeting was organized to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners in adopting AI technology and discovering related policies amid ongoing government-wide AI support efforts, and to prepare the tentative 'SME AI Utilization and Expansion Promotion Act,' which will serve as the basis for policy implementation. Currently, AI acts as an engine generating results, and future adoption is directly linked to corporate competitiveness; however, many SMEs have low adoption and utilization rates due to lack of information and uncertainty.

The kickoff meeting proceeded with the appointment ceremony for 11 advisory members of the policy advisory group, composed of experts from industry, academia, and research in the AI field, followed by the announcement of the operational plan, collection of opinions from the advisory group, and discussions. The advisory group plans to propose policy tasks and legislative measures for promoting AI utilization and expansion among SMEs through various discussions, including regulations and countermeasures related to SMEs under the AI Basic Act passed last December, government priority support projects, benchmarking excellent overseas AI policies, and securing and sharing learning data.

Additionally, opinions from the industry will be collected and supplemented regarding the current status of AI adoption by SMEs and small business owners, difficulties in utilization, and derived policy tasks, targeting institutions and organizations related to SMEs.

Based on the discussion results, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will derive key contents of the tentative 'SME AI Utilization and Expansion Promotion Act,' which will serve as the basis for policy implementation, along with major policy tasks by sector for promoting AI utilization and expansion among SMEs, such as infrastructure including computing power, securing high-quality learning data, funding, and professional manpower.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Artificial intelligence is a game changer leading innovation and change in all areas, and the main agents of AI technology adoption and utilization are SMEs. The SME AI policies and the SME AI Utilization and Expansion Promotion Act to be prepared through the operation of this SME AI advisory group and roundtable are expected to be an important opportunity for SMEs to respond to future technological and environmental changes, promote innovative growth, and contribute to the national economy."