Presidential Candidates Pledge Hundreds of Trillions in Investment
Lack of Concrete Plans for Funding and Utilization
As the June 3 presidential race intensifies, major candidates are fiercely competing over artificial intelligence (AI) policies. Recognized as a core technology that will determine national competitiveness, they are unveiling large-scale pledges involving investments worth hundreds of trillions of won. The industry views the investments themselves positively but criticizes the lack of realism and specificity.
The investment competition was ignited by Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. After Lee made "100 trillion won AI investment" his first pledge, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo and Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon also promised similar plans. Specifically, Lee proposed developing a Korean-style ChatGPT accessible to all citizens and securing more than 50,000 graphics processing units (GPUs). Former Governor Kim pledged to nurture 1.11 million talents and provide AI utilization vouchers, while Governor Kim suggested plans to attract overseas talents.
Presidential candidates from the People Power Party also responded in kind. Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon pledged to invest a total of 200 trillion won to leap forward as one of the "top three AI powers." He explained that strategic investments would be made in applied fields such as healthcare and robotics. Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo said he would invest more than 50 trillion won in developing breakthrough technologies like AI, quantum computing, and superconductors, and People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won announced a 10 trillion won investment plan in the AI sector.
The industry generally welcomes these moves. They view the prioritization of AI in campaign pledges and the promise of support as positive. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of consideration about how to secure investment funds and how to utilize them effectively. Only former leader Han and former Governor Kim proposed measures to raise large-scale investment funds, such as establishing public-private joint funds and considering tax increases.
There is also disappointment that the focus remains solely on growth through investment. Since competing on scale like the U.S. and China is unlikely to succeed, alternative growth models need to be explored. Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver AI Innovation Center, said, "It is realistically difficult to follow the U.S. and China, so we should look at countries in the same group as us, such as the UK and France."
The industry agrees that concrete measures are needed to activate the AI ecosystem so that the pledges do not end as mere declarations. Policies are required not only for technology development but also on how AI can be utilized across various industries. Choi Kyung-jin, professor of law at Gachon University, emphasized, "The policy focus is heavily on the supply side in the pledges, but support measures from the demand and utilization perspectives are also very important."
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