Ministry of Science and ICT Presents Work Plan to Presidential Office on December 12
Independent AI Models to Be Provided as Open Source
National AI Competition Planned... Winners to Receive Startup Support
Company-by-Company Information Security
The government will begin implementing a strategy to secure an independent artificial intelligence (AI) model ranked among the world’s top 10 by 2026 and expand its use to public services that citizens can experience in their daily lives. At the same time, in response to repeated hacking incidents in telecommunications and platform sectors, the government plans to introduce a strict accountability system, including punitive fines, as part of a comprehensive campaign against hacking.
On December 12, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced its “Key Work Plan for 2026,” designating the leap to becoming one of the world’s top three AI powers as its highest priority. The ministry stated it would secure an independent AI foundation model of global top-10 caliber by the second half of 2026. Currently, five consortiums-Naver Cloud, Upstage, SK Telecom, NC AI, and LG AI Research-are developing foundation models that serve as the basis for general-purpose AI. The government plans to release these models in stages and provide them as open source to foster the growth of the ecosystem.
In relation to this, President Lee Jaemyung asked during a work briefing, “Is the goal to create AI that everyone can benefit from, or does it refer to sovereign AI itself?” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyunghoon explained, “We aim to develop an independent sovereign AI model and, based on this, provide AI services that citizens can tangibly experience.”
The government will focus its policy efforts on expanding AI from specific industries or expert domains to “public-facing AI services” that citizens can experience in their daily lives. Using domestically produced AI semiconductors and independent models, the government will launch 10 key public AI projects, introducing AI services in areas closely tied to daily life, such as providing agricultural price information, national tax and administrative consultations, and care and safety. When President Lee emphasized strengthening education and accessibility, stating, “AI will soon become as integral to daily thinking and decision-making as arithmetic,” Deputy Prime Minister Bae responded, “Offering unrestricted access to everyone would be too costly, so a phased approach is needed. We will start with four public service projects in the first half of 2026, prioritizing university students and vulnerable groups.”
As a symbolic initiative to expand AI capabilities nationwide, the government will officially launch a “National AI Competition.” From March to November 2026, competitions will be held for the general public, university students, and professionals, categorized by skill level and topic. Winners will receive prize money and opportunities for follow-up research and development, commercialization, and startup support. In addition, a tailored AI education system will be established for elementary, middle, and high school students, university students, the general public, and professionals through online learning platforms and offline “AI Lounges.”
Security policy will become significantly stricter. The Ministry of Science and ICT has identified the repeated hacking incidents in telecommunications, platforms, and distribution sectors-areas directly connected to citizens’ daily lives-as a structural problem and plans to strengthen corporate security responsibilities through legal and institutional measures. Companies that repeatedly experience security breaches will face punitive fines of up to 3% of their sales, and if signs of hacking are detected, authorities will be empowered to conduct investigations ex officio. Furthermore, a system will be introduced to disclose each company’s information security level and status of security investments and personnel, allowing both the market and the public to evaluate them.
The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “Without information security, both digital transformation and becoming an AI powerhouse are nothing but castles built on sand.” The ministry emphasized that it will bundle AI, public services, and security into a single policy package to deliver tangible changes that both citizens and businesses can feel.
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