The South Korean government expects the public sector’s AI adoption rate to rise from 55% to 80%
The South Korean government has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy council, in partnership with domestic tech firms including Naver and Kakao with the aim of developing AI policies and guidelines in collaboration with the private sector, according to previous press reports.
The country’s Ministry of Science and ICT recently held a launch ceremony for the country’s new AI consultation group, composed of 32 IT and digital experts and policy makers. Some of the body’s founding members include Naver, Kakao, SK Telecom, KT and Samsung Electronics.
The members will start discussing AI-related issues and will propose the implementation of new policies, which the relevant government ministries will review and define potential implementation plans, according to the reports.
As South Korea is currently injecting a total of KRW710.2 billion ($525 million) into a total of 69 local AI projects in 2024 to harness AI technology in various industries and social services.
This year, the government of South Korea also aims to increase its nationals’ AI service experience rate from 51% last year to 60% this year, while also surging the AI adoption rate of domestic firms from 28% last year to 40%.
The government also expects the public sector’s AI adoption rate to rise from 55% to 80%.
According to a study by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the introduction of AI technology throughout the domestic economy could expand the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.8 percentage points annually.
Last year, Korean carrier SK Telecom said it had invested a total of KRW 9.4 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) startups Allganize and Imprimed.
K-AI Alliance, a group of AI startups backed by SK Telecom, has currently 16 companies. The alliance operates three sectors – AI service, AI transformation (AIX) and AI infrastructure.
In September 2023, SK Telecom had announced its ambition to become a global artificial intelligence company by strengthening its own AI competitiveness and cooperating with partners globally.
The carrier’s CEO Ryu Young-sang unveiled the telco’s new ‘AI Pyramid Strategy’ centered around three key areas including AI infrastructure, AI transformation (AIX) and AI service.
Under this new strategy, Ryu said that the carrier expects the proportion of AI-related investment to approximately triple from 12% over the past five years to 33% over the next five years.
The company noted that AI Infrastructure is an area where SK Telecom’s technological capabilities are concentrated. The area consists of AI data centers, AI semiconductors and multiple LLMs.
The Korean operator also said it plans to leverage its AI service-related experience and knowhow accumulated in the Korean market to develop a personal AI assistant service that can attract global customers.
