[K-AI Challenge] ⑤ LG AI Research Institute: "Focusing on Solving Industrial Challenges, Realizing Sovereign AI Through Preemptive Investment"

Hongrak Lee and Woohyung Lim, Co-Chief Researchers at LG AI Research Institute Interview
Expanding Applications within Affiliates and Specializing in Industrial Sites
"Building Models That Deliver Real Value to Users Is Crucial"

Hongrak Lee and Woohyung Lim, co-chief researchers at LG AI Research Institute, are introducing the vision of LG AI Research Institute in an interview with Asia Economy at the D&O Gangseo Building on the 4th.

"Our ultimate goal is to create models that AI researchers around the world are eager to use, thereby elevating Korea's status in AI and revitalizing the domestic AI ecosystem."

Hongrak Lee and Woohyung Lim, co-chief researchers at LG AI Research Institute, introduced the institute's vision during an interview with Asia Economy at the D&O Gangseo Building on September 4. They emphasized, "Compared to the national-level GPU support provided to Chinese companies, our infrastructure is absolutely insufficient. To overcome this, it is crucial to build high-quality field data and industry-specialized models to secure differentiated competitiveness." They explained that 'Exaone', the large language model (LLM) developed in-house, has industry-specific strengths because, from the outset, the focus was on developing AI technologies that companies could actually use and adopt. The co-chief researchers expressed confidence that expanding use cases within LG affiliates and accumulating know-how through focused research by AI specialists have become significant competitive advantages.

Vice President Lee and Executive Director Lim were appointed as co-chief researchers in July, succeeding former chief Byun Baekhun, who was appointed as the first Minister of Science and ICT under the Lee Jaemyung administration. This interview with Asia Economy marks the first time they have conducted a joint interview since assuming their new roles. The release of 'Exaone 1.0', LG AI Research Institute's own LLM, in December 2021, and the subsequent launch of 'Exaone 4.0', a world-class AI model with continuously upgraded performance as of July, were made possible thanks to the holding company's unwavering support and investment.

Chairman Koo Kwangmo's Full Support for Exaone Development

Executive Director Lim recalled, "Before developing Exaone, LLM technology had not yet seen the commercial success of OpenAI's ChatGPT. At the time of our research, it was crucial to proactively secure relevant technologies and talent to use and leverage AI effectively." He stressed that bold investment from the holding company was essential, given the enormous costs involved. Chairman Koo Kwangmo of LG personally received in-person reports and expressed, "If you are confident in the direction, it is well worth the investment," and actively supported LG AI Research Institute in pursuing the development of Exaone. As a result, last month, the institute was selected as one of five elite teams for the government's 'Independent AI Foundation Model Project' and is now competing for final selection. Vice President Lee explained, "The development of LLMs is an unstoppable trend. If you start late, it is difficult to achieve results proportional to the resources invested, so starting at the right time was critical."

Recently, as competition intensifies among five companies vying for final selection in the Independent AI Foundation Model Project, the race over model parameters has also heated up. Executive Director Lim stated, "Since evaluations will focus on performance, the number of parameters will not be as important. In the past, there was much discussion about parameters, but now it is more important to build efficient models that perform well from the user's perspective and provide real value to users."

Additionally, LG AI Graduate School has received official approval as the first in-house graduate school in Korea and is set to open on the 30th. Vice President Lee, who will serve as the inaugural dean, said, "LG AI Graduate School aims to cultivate AI experts specialized in industrial domains. LG Group is strongly promoting AI transformation across the entire value chain, and we expect that the graduate school will help secure key capabilities." Regarding recent concerns about an AI bubble, Vice President Lee commented, "LG AI Research Institute is focusing its R&D efforts on the clear goal of 'solving industrial challenges.' While there may be some debate about overvaluation at certain companies, the value of AI technology is ultimately on an upward trajectory and will accelerate even further."

On the need for a sovereign AI, Executive Director Lim said, "If the influence of AI were minor, we could quickly use foreign solutions, but AI can affect all aspects of daily work, shared norms, and national culture, so we must not become technologically dependent. By building an ecosystem with sovereign AI, we can share information for the benefit of the entire national industry, thereby increasing benefits for the whole country."