618 Billion Won Increase from Government Proposal... 1.6 Trillion Won Invested in 10,000 GPUs
213.6 Billion Won for 'World Best LLM'
Commercialization of Domestic AI Semiconductors Accelerated... Demonstration Project Budget Doubled
The Ministry of Science and ICT has secured an additional budget of 1.9067 trillion won for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. This amount is 61.8 billion won more than the original government proposal and was finalized in the National Assembly plenary session, the ministry announced on May 1. Through this supplementary budget, the ministry plans to swiftly implement key initiatives aimed at acquiring 10,000 advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) within the year and advancing South Korea to become the world’s third-leading AI powerhouse after the United States and China.
The ministry stated that, under the belief that “falling behind by one year means losing competitiveness by three years,” it will focus investments on expanding AI computing infrastructure, developing next-generation AI models, and nurturing talent. Most notably, 1.6341 trillion won will be allocated to bring in 10,000 clustering-based GPUs this year, and an additional 172.3 billion won will be used to lease 3,000 advanced GPUs from the private sector to maximize utilization.
In addition, 213.6 billion won will be invested in the “World Best LLM Project (WBL)” to select five elite domestic teams and provide them with concentrated support for up to three years, including GPUs, data, and talent.
The early commercialization of domestically produced AI semiconductors will also be accelerated. This year’s demonstration budget will be more than doubled from 41.7 billion won to 87.1 billion won to actively support the commercialization of Neural Processing Units (NPUs) by promising domestic AI semiconductor companies. Furthermore, support will be strengthened for pioneering new markets such as on-device AI and overseas demonstrations.
The government’s budget for the “AI Innovation Fund” will also be increased to 100 billion won, and an additional 10 billion won will be allocated to promote the commercialization of AI technologies and the spread of AI transformation by outstanding research-based companies in R&D special zones. In addition, 9.2 billion won in new funding will be provided to support the development and distribution of barrier-free kiosk technology for AI and digital vulnerable groups.
Furthermore, to attract top-tier international AI researchers, the “AI Pathfinder Project” will be launched, providing up to 2 billion won per year, with recruited talent to be given priority placement in WBL project teams. A budget of 15 billion won will also be invested in securing and nurturing AI talent, including hosting the “Global AI Challenge” and providing top-level treatment and support for group and interdisciplinary research to 400 domestic and overseas postdoctoral researchers in the field of AI and science and technology convergence.
Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jongho emphasized, “In the midst of global decisions over AI leadership, we have secured the urgently needed budget,” adding, “We will make all-out efforts not to miss the golden time, with a sense of urgency greater than ever before.”
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