[Exclusive] "8 Billion KRW per College to Foster Top AI Talent"... President Lee Presides Over Emergency Economic TF

Four Institutes Including KAIST, GIST, DGIST, and UNIST
200 Students to Be Trained Per College... Significance for Regional Decentralization
President Lee's Key Pledge Focuses on AI Talent Development

President Lee Jaemyung is presiding over the Emergency Economic Monitoring Task Force (TF) and discussing a plan to establish AI colleges with a capacity of 800 students at four science and technology institutes: KAIST, GIST, DGIST, and UNIST. This initiative is drawing attention as a strategy to cultivate top-tier talent for future core industries through regional AI colleges.

According to the presidential office and the government on July 28, President Lee is expected to convene the Emergency Economic TF as early as this week. A government official stated, "The schedule is flexible due to the Korea-US tariff agreement," but also mentioned, "We are planning to hold the TF on the 30th."

President Lee will be briefed on the plan to establish AI colleges at the four institutes: KAIST, GIST, DGIST, and UNIST. The proposal includes setting up four to five departments in each college, admitting about 200 students per college. This would result in a total of 800 students across the four institutes. The budget per college is set at 8 billion KRW, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance is currently reviewing whether there are sufficient funds to establish all four colleges simultaneously starting next year.

Yonhap News Agency

The AI college is a major campaign pledge of President Lee. On May 14, as a presidential primary candidate for the Democratic Party, he stated, "We will establish AI colleges at regional hub universities and further nurture master's and doctoral-level professionals." His first industrial site visit after taking office was also to the Ulsan AI Data Center. President Lee personally attended the opening ceremony and emphasized, "We will actively foster innovative talent."

The policy to set up regional AI control centers at the four institutes is also included in the report. These centers will provide technical consulting to nearby universities and design and distribute standardized AI curricula. In essence, the science and technology institutes will serve as 'control towers' for AI education in their regions. Major national universities in the provinces will be developed as hubs for industry, academia, and research institutions to conduct demonstrations, while private universities will be encouraged to specialize in AI based on local industries.

The reason these measures were reported to the TF, which discusses urgent economic issues, is that the presidential office considers AI talent development an immediate priority. Initially, the government had planned to promote measures such as "AI for All" first. "AI for All" is a presidential campaign pledge to provide citizens with free access to advanced AI at the level of developed countries. However, as the presidential office prioritized policies, it was decided that securing 'top-tier' talent should come first.

In reality, the supply of AI professionals is far short of industrial demand. According to the "Major Countries' AI Talent Development and Attraction Policies" report published by the Software Policy and Research Institute (SPRi) at the end of May, 81.9% of the 2,354 domestic AI companies are experiencing a shortage of talent. The Ministry of Employment and Labor forecasts that if the current situation does not improve, there will be a shortage of 12,800 AI professionals by 2027. The ministry's analysis also indicates that the shortage is most severe among high-level research and development (R&D) personnel.

The outflow of AI talent is even more serious. According to the "Economic Impact and Response Measures to the Outflow of Highly Skilled Talent from Korea" report released last month by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI), Korea's net outflow of AI talent last year was -0.36. A positive number indicates a net inflow of talent, while a negative number means a net outflow. Korea ranks among the lowest in the OECD. In comparison, Germany (2.34) and the United States (1.07) are far ahead.

The presidential office and the government believe that science and technology institutes are the most efficient route to quickly nurture talent through AI colleges and related initiatives.

KAIST, for example, has already established an AI graduate school since 2019 and was the first in the country to confer master's and doctoral degrees in AI. Additionally, starting last month, the four institutes, together with the Ministry of Science and ICT, began recruiting 400 AI postdoctoral researchers. A government official explained, "We expect that pure AI research will yield the best results at science and technology institutes, which are focused on the scientific field."

Another advantage of these institutes is their relative freedom from regulations. In January 2023, the Ministry of Economy and Finance decided at the Public Operations Committee to remove the science and technology institutes from the list of other public institutions. As a result, they are now exempt from regulations such as total payroll caps, blind recruitment, and mandatory female employment quotas. With the establishment of AI colleges, the institutes will be able to independently invite world-class scholars as professors or intensively recruit postdoctoral researchers.

The decision to focus AI initiatives outside the Seoul metropolitan area reflects the government's philosophy of "regional decentralization." During his presidential campaign, President Lee pledged to strengthen the autonomy and treatment of researchers in science and technology and to reinforce region-based ecosystems. To this end, he promised to establish a global joint research hub in which regional science and technology institutes, regional hub national universities, and world-renowned universities would collaborate.