2nd Meeting of Science and Technology Ministers Chaired by Vice Prime Minister Bae Kyunghoon
Fostering Five AI Semiconductor Unicorns
Accelerating Public Adoption of Domestic NPUs
Preparing the Korean Genesis Mission: A Pan-Government Science and
The government will sequentially distribute 10,000 advanced Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to industry, academia, and national artificial intelligence (AI) projects starting in February next year. In response to the recent Coupang incident, which sparked controversy over large-scale personal data breaches, the government plans to establish an inter-ministerial task force (TF) to investigate the incident and reform the information security certification system.
The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed these measures at the 2nd Meeting of Ministers Related to Science and Technology, held at the Government Complex Seoul on December 18, and decided to swiftly proceed with GPU supply and follow-up actions regarding Coupang.
Of the approximately 13,000 GPUs secured, 10,000 units allocated for government use will begin distribution in earnest from February next year. Starting December 22, project applications from industry, academia, and research institutes will be accepted through an online platform. The government will also identify national projects such as AI transformation (AX) in various sectors through demand surveys by relevant ministries. Each ministry will jointly establish technology development and demonstration plans tailored to the AX demand in their respective domains and secure budgets together, thereby expanding cooperation. The Ministry of Science and ICT will also support the discussion and utilization of key resources required for AX, including GPUs, at the ministers' meetings.
Baek Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Minister of Science and ICT, stated in his opening remarks, "All industries, including automotive, shipbuilding, and finance, are now enhancing productivity and added value through the convergence of AI and digital technologies, and the government cannot be an exception." He called for swift implementation. He added, "To discover new growth engines that will drive fundamental innovation across industry and society, we are preparing a plan to launch the 'Korean Genesis Mission,' an inter-ministerial public-private cooperation project, and will discuss it at a ministerial meeting soon."
The meeting also discussed strategies for advancing the AI semiconductor industry. The government presented its goal to foster an ecosystem centered on domestically developed Neural Processing Units (NPUs) and nurture five 'AI semiconductor unicorns' (unlisted startups valued at over 1 trillion won). The strategy is to cultivate companies that could be called the 'K-NVIDIA' through performance enhancement, the establishment of large-scale testbeds, and the creation of public and private sector demand.
South Korea's network strategy for the AI era was also discussed. The government aims to build more than 500 intelligent base stations (AI-RAN) nationwide by 2030 and nurture five AI network companies with annual sales exceeding 500 billion won. With the anticipated surge in traffic and ultra-low latency demand due to the proliferation of AI agents and physical AI, the government plans to make 6G and AI networks the next-generation growth engines.
The meeting also included an emergency agenda on the government's cross-ministerial response to the Coupang personal data breach incident. The government will form an inter-ministerial TF led by the 2nd Vice Minister of Science and ICT, with participation from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Personal Information Protection Commission, Korea Communications Commission, Financial Services Commission, Fair Trade Commission, National Intelligence Service, and the National Police Agency. The TF will focus on investigating and prosecuting the breach, protecting users, reforming the information security certification system, and strengthening corporate accountability. The TF will hold its kickoff meeting in the fourth week of December, after which the TF leader will convene meetings with relevant ministries as needed to monitor progress.
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