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Minister Yusang-im of the Ministry of Science and ICT is speaking at a press conference held at MWC2025 in Barcelona, Spain, on the 5th (local time). Photo by Park Yujin

Minister Yoo Sang-im of the Ministry of Science and ICT expressed concerns about the rapid growth of Chinese IT companies, especially Huawei, after attending the 'Mobile World Congress 2025' (MWC 2025) held in Barcelona, Spain, emphasizing the urgent need to establish policies to prevent domestic talent outflow and attract talent.

On the 5th (local time), Minister Yoo said at a press briefing on site, "I visited the Huawei booth and saw many products with excellent performance and price competitiveness in the materials and components sector," adding, "The antenna technology and hardware performance in the 5G field seemed comparable to the competition with the United States."

He pointed out, "China has all the capital, manpower, and national support to compete in the technological hegemony race with the United States," and added, "Huawei alone has 120,000 researchers out of 200,000 employees dedicated to improving technology, whereas South Korea lacks sufficient funds, has far fewer high-level personnel, and must prevent the structure where talent leaves and does not return."

Regarding domestic AI technology, he forecasted, "We can quickly reach the level of DeepSeek, and if the environment is provided, it can evolve much further." However, he lamented, "We need a foundation model that represents us, and securing computing resources is urgent, but the domestic situation is difficult and frustrating."

About Samsung Electronics, he expressed expectations, saying, "Maintaining the world’s number one position in the memory semiconductor field for a long time is an incredible know-how," and added, "I hope they will muster strength in this era and dominate the AI semiconductor field." He also suggested, "Rather than simply protecting technology as a big company, it would be good to be a bit more open and communicate with startups."

At MWC, he met with Brendan Carr, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and conveyed his hope that research and development in AI and advanced bio fields will continue under the second Trump administration. Minister Yoo said, "I plan to visit the White House soon to discuss more specific details."

He also stated, "I plan to visit startups in Boston and Silicon Valley to explore opportunities to bring back high-level talent to Korea," emphasizing as a pressing task for the Ministry of Science and ICT, "It is most urgent to realistically prevent talent outflow and establish concrete policies and economic compensation plans to attract overseas talent."