AI Industry Fighting Alone... "Government Must Lead Integration"
US Big Tech Drives Investment... China Builds Ecosystem Through Government Leadership
An analysis has suggested that South Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is fragmented, making it difficult to secure competitiveness. Hyun Ahn, President and Chief Development Officer (CDO) of SK Hynix, stated, "Although Korea possesses a variety of technologies and businesses, each is fighting its own battle," adding, "Since this cannot be resolved by the competitiveness of individual companies alone, it is necessary for the government to take the lead in establishing a nationwide virtual big tech company."
President Hyun Ahn made these remarks on the 17th at the Semiconductor Special Committee Forum, held by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme of "Guidelines for Becoming a Leading AI Semiconductor Nation."
Hyun Ahn, President and Chief Development Officer (CDO) of SK Hynix, is giving a presentation on the theme of "Guidelines for Becoming a Leading AI Semiconductor Nation" at the Semiconductor Special Committee Forum held by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea on the 17th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. National Academy of Engineering of Korea
President Ahn highlighted Korea's crisis by citing examples from the United States, where the industry is raising astronomical investment funds, and China, where the government is building the ecosystem at the national level. He explained, "In the United States, many global big tech companies are independently leading AI verticals and securing significant funding," and added, "The situation is even more serious in China." He continued, "Korea has many excellent companies in AI application, service, and software, but there are questions about who will set the specifications and direction for hardware changes or customization," expressing concern that, "If these elements are not connected as one axis, it becomes extremely difficult to determine the direction of development."
He diagnosed that while Korea certainly has strengths, including in memory semiconductors, other related sectors are fragmented, causing problems in securing integrated national competitiveness.
President Hyun Ahn proposed a government-led industrial alliance as an alternative. He said, "It is necessary for the government to lead and, through the alliance and integrated operation of related industries, build a nationwide virtual AI," adding, "The platform where such efforts can be realized will be the AI data center implementation platform, and Korea should operate an AI implementation platform that connects everything from memory, where we have strengths, to various fabless semiconductor components."
He also addressed the importance of securing AI capabilities. President Ahn emphasized, "To secure Korea's long-term AI competitiveness, it is crucial to build a sovereign AI platform and foster talent." Since the United States and China are leading the AI verticals, he suggested that Korea should expand its capabilities by attracting overseas talent if necessary, but also stressed that the country must independently strengthen its capabilities in areas such as defense, energy, communications, and finance, which cannot be entrusted to external resources.
President Ahn concluded, "Such capabilities will serve as a catalyst for expanding into global AI business," and added, "If these efforts are sustained for about ten years, Korea will secure competitiveness in various industries and be able to nurture AI professionals."
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