[Initial View] Is the 'Korean-style ChatGPT' the Right Answer?

Break Free from the Fixed Idea of Imitating the US and China
There Are Many Paths to Becoming an AI Powerhouse
Focus on Differentiation First
The Government Should Be a Patron, Not a Captain
Lift Regulations and Support AI Companies

"Why can't we make something like the Nintendo game console, like Japan?" On February 4, 2009, former President Lee Myung-bak made this request during a meeting on countermeasures for declining exports. At that time, Nintendo was a global leader with nearly 30 years of experience in the gaming business. In contrast, South Korea was practically starting from scratch in the console manufacturing sector. Although some companies, supported by the government, jumped into development, they were no match. The president's wish back then left behind only the 'Myungtendo' (Lee Myung-bak + Nintendo) ? a bittersweet portmanteau. Even 16 years later, it remains synonymous with a 'Korean-style' failure case.

"Why can't we make something like DeepSeek, like China?" This was the question that stirred South Korea earlier this year. On February 20, Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, impatiently declared, "We will develop a 'Korean-style ChatGPT' as soon as possible," even proposing measures without secured budgets. He announced plans to form a national AI 'representative team' to create a world-class large language model (LLM), but could not specify when the team would be selected. The government explained this away by saying, "The supplementary budget must be approved first." The National Assembly was equally surprised by DeepSeek's emergence. A series of forums titled 'Top 3 AI Powers' and 'AI Sovereignty Recovery' followed, and it was unprecedented for lawmakers to rush to Naver's headquarters.

It is natural for South Korea, a superfast internet powerhouse and semiconductor legend, to dream of becoming an 'AI advanced nation.' It is also a goal achievable through effort. However, seeing the pursuit of a 'second DeepSeek' or a 'Korean-style ChatGPT' as an ideal without differentiated considerations and discussions is worrisome. Confidence is good, but strategy is even more important.

Recently, IT professors I met privately unanimously pointed out, "We must first break free from the fixed idea of making the same thing as China or the U.S." Their reasoning was clear. First is computing power. South Korea possesses about 3,000 units of Nvidia's top-tier graphics processing unit (GPU), the H100. In contrast, Meta announced it would purchase 350,000 H100 units in just one year. Although China made DeepSeek cheaply, it is estimated to own tens of thousands of H800 units, a scaled-down version of the H100. Even if our government secures 20,000 GPUs by next year, it cannot compete with them.

The second is funding. While the U.S. announced the 'Stargate Project,' investing about 730 trillion won in AI data centers, South Korea is planning a national AI computing center with a budget of 2 trillion won. With such a gap, there is no reason for AI talent to stay in Korea. Yet claiming that Korea can create the world's best generative AI is purely political rhetoric.

A 'Korean-style ChatGPT' is not a prerequisite for AI competitiveness. There are many paths. For example, KT is about to launch generative AI for corporate clients in partnership with Microsoft (MS). Domestic companies have been reluctant to entrust overseas big tech firms due to security concerns, and KT has filled that gap. Samsung Electronics used Google's Android to develop 'One UI' and applied it to Galaxy phones. Similarly, improving open-source software to create new AI services in industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing is another approach.

If the government wants to play the AI control tower role, it must clearly distinguish when to be the 'captain' and when to be the 'patron.' Companies, pushed to the brink of survival by China and the U.S., know best which AI services to bet on. For now, the government should become a supportive figure who removes regulations to allow free AI technology development, offers tax benefits for GPU purchases, and supports talent recruitment. If it blindly chases only the 'Korean-style ChatGPT,' it risks becoming a failure case like 'Myungtendo.'