Choi Tae-won: "Korea Must Invest 1,400 Trillion Won in AI Infrastructure Within 7 Years to Survive the Competition" (Comprehensive)

Joint Seminar by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bank of Korea
Special Dialogue Between Chairman Choi Taewon and Governor Lee Changyong
Exchange of Views on AI Bubble, Global Competitiveness, and Digital Assets
Keynote Speech and Presentation Sessions Held
"Need for Nurturing AI Talent and a New Regulatory Framework"

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of SK Group, emphasized during a special discussion with Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, at the joint seminar between the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bank of Korea held on the 5th, that "in order to survive the global artificial intelligence (AI) competition, we must invest at least 1,400 trillion won in AI infrastructure over the next seven years."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the "4th Bank of Korea-Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Seminar, AI-Based Growth and Innovation" held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 5th, and had a special discussion with Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea. 2025.12.5 Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Attending the seminar under the theme "AI-Based Growth and Innovation," Chairman Choi stated, "If our country is to properly enter the current global AI competition, we need to build AI data centers with a capacity of 20 GW (gigawatts) within the next seven years." He further explained, "Given that it costs about 70 trillion won per gigawatt, a total of 1,400 trillion won must be invested," detailing the calculation process for the required amount.

Chairman Choi also analyzed that 'AI infrastructure' serves as a powerful incentive to attract global talent and data. He highlighted that fostering promising startups is also a key to enhancing Korea's AI competitiveness. Chairman Choi remarked, "To attract resources from external markets, we ultimately need to create more attractive companies than other countries," and pointed out, "If we fail to establish a separate market for AI startups and create tens of thousands of AI startups, it will be difficult to win the current AI war."

He also stated that selection and concentration are inevitable if Korea is to achieve its goal of becoming one of the global 'AI Top 3.' "Korea cannot compete on the same level as the United States and China," he said, "and only by adopting a new strategy of 'selection and concentration' with our limited resources can we achieve our goal of joining the top three in the AI war."

Regarding the 'AI bubble' concerns that have been raised recently, he asserted, "There is no bubble in the AI industry itself." Chairman Choi explained, "The stock market always overshoots (stock prices rise above their actual value), so in that sense, there is a bubble, but as the AI industry continues to develop, the overshooting issue will be resolved." He added, "The only scenario in which the AI market collapses is if it turns out that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is ultimately impossible. However, I believe we are already entering the era of AGI."

Chairman Choi stressed that "there is not much time left for Korea," highlighting that securing growth engines through the AI industry is the most important task. He warned, "If Korea's economic growth rate remains in the 0% range for more than five years, there will be no one left to invest in Korea, making recovery impossible," and added, "We need to develop new solutions within five years to drive and uplift the economy."

Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, who engaged in the discussion with Chairman Choi, stated that while stablecoins are needed in the era of AI transformation, social consensus must come first. Governor Lee said, "I agree with introducing stablecoins as a way to advance the financial industry, but I do not believe there is yet a consensus in our country regarding capital liberalization." He continued, "Since there are regulations and a need for oversight regarding people taking their assets overseas, I believe stablecoins should first be introduced through banks."

This seminar was organized to explore strategies for building an ecosystem for industrial innovation and corporate growth based on AI in a rapidly changing global environment. Since 2023, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bank of Korea have jointly held this seminar on a regular basis to expand discussions on sustainable growth strategies for the Korean economy. This is the fourth time the event has been held.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (right), and Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, are attending the "4th Bank of Korea-Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Seminar: AI-Based Growth and Innovation" held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 5th, engaging in a special dialogue. 2025.12.5 Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

In addition to the discussion, Ha Jung-woo, Chief of AI Future Planning at the Presidential Office, and Moon Shin-hak, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, delivered congratulatory remarks at the event, expressing their commitment to providing full support for the AI transformation in the industrial field.

In the keynote speech that followed, Lee Hong-rak, Head of LG AI Research, stressed, "Securing competitiveness through AI transformation is a matter of corporate survival," and emphasized that nurturing in-house experts is extremely important. He predicted that while organizations in the past were operated mainly by experienced personnel who had accumulated expertise in their fields, in the future, all work will be reorganized around AI by applying AI to each business area and learning through this process. He also argued that "expanding employees' AI literacy (the ability to understand and utilize AI technologies and tools) through AI universities and similar initiatives will be key."

In the topic presentation, Oh Sam-il, Head of the Employment Research Team at the Bank of Korea, pointed out that "the wage premium for domestic AI technical personnel (6% as of 2024) has been steadily rising, but it is still low compared to major advanced countries." He further emphasized that "low performance-based compensation is causing an outflow of AI specialists overseas." Kim Cheon-gu, Research Fellow at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's SGI, stated, "If AI is actively adopted, the potential growth rate between 2024 and 2040 is expected to increase by 0.66 percentage points, but the regulatory framework, including the AI Basic Act, is not supporting this." He argued that "a new AI regulatory framework should be established, including the construction of a manufacturing AI mega sandbox and the introduction of negative regulations and the regulatory sunset system (a system that requires clear evidence of necessity, purpose, and effect before introducing new regulations)."