"We Must Achieve Third Place, Close Behind the US and China"
"Building an AI Ecosystem Specialized in Korea's Strengths"
Bae Kyunghoon, the nominee for Minister of Science and ICT, stated on the 25th, "I have a strong sense of duty to achieve the goal of making Korea one of the top three global leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) within the next two to three years, and I believe I have set a good example while working at my previous company."
Speaking to reporters on his way to the personnel hearing preparation office at Gwanghwamun Post Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Bae said, "To fulfill President Lee Jaemyung's first campaign pledge of making Korea one of the top three AI powerhouses, we must reach third place, close behind the first and second, and in reality, there is not much time left."
Bae added, "I think we should start by defining what it means to be among the top three in AI," and went on to say, "Even if we reach third place, the gap between us and the United States and China is still very large." This reflects a sense of crisis that even if Korea catches up to the US and China, the two leading AI nations, and secures third place, the overwhelming technological gap could render such a ranking meaningless in terms of competition.
Exaone 3.5, which Bae developed during his tenure at LG AI Research, was the only Korean model included as a noteworthy global AI in the "AI Index Report 2025" published by Stanford University in the United States this April.
When asked to define "sovereign AI," he responded, "The competition in large language models (LLMs) is now becoming almost globally standardized, so it is important to be competitive according to global standards," and added, "I do not want to define it as 'creating a model specialized for the Korean language' when language barriers between models are no longer a problem."
He continued, "It is important to develop AI models specialized for areas where Korea excels, such as manufacturing and the medical and bio sectors," and emphasized, "We need to build a sovereign AI ecosystem that integrates these strengths." In particular, Bae noted, "It should not be limited to functioning only in Korea, but must advance to a level that can be applied globally."
Regarding concerns that there could be a conflict of interest if LG AI Research, where he previously worked, participates in the government's independent AI model development project, Bae said, "Creating the overall AI ecosystem is not something that can be done by any single company." He added, "There must be extensive cooperation among companies, and resources such as AI computing and data must be well established. I plan to look at the situation comprehensively." Bae also stated that he does not own any domestic stocks, including those of LG.
When asked about the SK Telecom hacking incident, he said, "Prevention is the most important thing," and added, "I plan to review this matter quickly."
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