[Gwanga in] Government Promoting AI, Only One Person in Charge of AI Law

Key Issues of the AI Basic Act Drawing Attention from Tech Companies
One Public Official Struggling Alone with the Task
Only 45 Staff Members in Total
Leading AI Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT
The EU, Which Enacted AI Legislation Before Korea
Assigns 140 Dedicated Personnel This Year

Only one person. This is the number of public officials responsible for creating the details of the ‘AI Basic Act,’ which will serve as the foundation for South Korea’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Although the government loudly proclaims its intention to enhance AI competitiveness, the personnel in charge of critical tasks are severely insufficient.

The AI Basic Act is a ‘hot potato’ attracting attention not only from domestic tech companies but also from overseas big tech firms. This is because the regulations and obligations for businesses are determined by how the criteria for ‘high-impact AI’ specified in the law are set, and how abstract concepts such as ‘AI safety’ and ‘AI transparency’ are defined.

An executive in charge of government relations at a domestic tech company said, "The main issue is that the subordinate legislation, the enforcement decree, is being sorted out by only one public official in the AI Policy Division of the Ministry of Science and ICT, who is struggling while writing it with the help of a lawyer, so the process is inevitably slow. Considering the importance of the AI Basic Act, this is an inconsistent situation."

This shortage of AI personnel was anticipated when the AI Policy Division, a dedicated AI organization within the Ministry of Science and ICT, was established in 2019. At that time, almost no new personnel were added, and staff were seconded from other departments to start the work. The seriousness can be seen even by looking at the Data Promotion Division (9 people), which handles AI data-related tasks within the ministry. For example, the Financial Services Commission has 12 personnel solely responsible for financial data, which is more than the AI-related staff.

The total number of personnel leading AI policy within the ministry is only 45. In comparison, the European Union (EU), which enacted AI legislation ahead of Korea, has over 100 AI staff. The European Artificial Intelligence Office within the EU announced that it will hire more than 140 dedicated personnel by the end of this year to implement and enforce the AI Act. An industry insider said, "Although the government emphasizes the importance of AI, the shortage of personnel is the same in both the industry and the public sector," adding, "This situation could hinder the development of the AI industry."