Deputy Prime Minister Baek Kyunghun Holds New Year's Meeting with ICT Veterans: "Seeking Advice for AI G3 Leap"

"We Will Build a Foundational AI Society with Proprietary Models"
Policy Dialogue with Senior Experts Ahead of the Jeongwoohoe New Year's Gathering

Paik Kyunghun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT. Photo by Yonhap News

On the morning of January 22, Baek Kyunghun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, held a New Year's meeting with senior figures in the information and communications sector at the Gwanghwamun Post Office in Seoul. He sought policy advice to help South Korea become one of the "AI G3"-the world's top three AI powerhouses.

This meeting was held ahead of the Jeongwoohoe New Year's gathering on the same day. Marking the start of 2026, the Ministry of Science and ICT has been elevated to a deputy prime ministerial department and established a new AI Office, representing a major organizational turning point. The event aimed to explore future directions for the ministry's operations. It was attended by eight former ministers who participated in the Jeongwoohoe New Year's gathering, Kim Chang-gon, President of Jeongwoohoe, and other senior experts in the information and communications and postal sectors.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Baek said, "I deeply appreciate the dedication of my predecessors who have served from the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Information and Communication to the current Ministry of Science and ICT. As global competition for technological supremacy accelerates, I ask for your generous advice regarding the roles and responsibilities our ministry must fulfill as a deputy prime ministerial department to help South Korea become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses."

He went on to emphasize, "By securing GPUs and building an AI superhighway, we will achieve world-class technological competitiveness and spread proprietary AI models across the economy and society, creating a foundational AI society where all citizens can experience tangible benefits."

During the meeting, discussions covered topics such as establishing government-wide AI governance, advancing AI data infrastructure, nurturing talent, and strategies for revitalizing the industrial ecosystem. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to incorporate the policy suggestions made by the senior experts at this meeting into its future policy direction.