Ministry of Science and ICT Expands Investment in Core AI Talent Development: "Aiming to Become a Top 3 Global AI Power"

From Attracting World-Class AI Experts to Fostering Domestic Talent

The Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a large-scale investment to help South Korea become a powerhouse in artificial intelligence (AI) talent. On May 21, the ministry announced at an expert roundtable held at the Software Maestro Training Center in Mapo, Seoul, that it will implement an AI talent development program worth approximately 26.5 billion won this year through a supplementary budget.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will provide comprehensive support, ranging from attracting top-tier international talent to fostering domestic experts, based on the belief that cultivating AI talent is fundamental to securing national competitiveness, and not merely about training developers.

First, 5 billion won will be allocated to the "AI Pathfinder Project" to attract leading international AI researchers to South Korea. The outstanding global talent secured through this project will be given priority placement on teams selected for the "World Best LLM Project," enabling them to contribute to the development of world-class AI models.

A "Global AI Challenge (AI Champion)" competition with a budget of approximately 10 billion won will also be held. The government plans to announce details regarding the competition format and schedule within the first half of the year.

Existing AI talent development initiatives will be significantly expanded. An additional 3 billion won will be invested in the "AI Star Fellowship," a program supporting emerging domestic AI researchers, to select three more projects. Additionally, 3.5 billion won will be allocated to the "Generative AI Leading Talent Development" program, which connects generative AI companies with universities, to select three additional projects.

Furthermore, 5 billion won in supplementary funding will be allocated to the "Innovation Academy," which provides innovative AI and software education using a "three-no" approach?no tuition, no instructors, and no textbooks?to recruit approximately 100 additional students.

Song Sanghoon, Director General for ICT Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "We will use this supplementary budget as a catalyst to nurture and secure world-class core AI talent, and plan to further expand these efforts. We will mobilize the capabilities of both the public and private sectors so that South Korea can become a leading nation in AI talent and join the ranks of the global top three in AI."