The Peninsula

Timeline of the South Korean Government’s AI Efforts

South Korea has found itself at the center of forward momentum on the international governance and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). Korea was one of the first countries to develop a national AI strategy. It also co-hosted the 2024 AI Safety Summit and the second summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) and is developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that power some of the most advanced AI technologies. It is no wonder that Korea is increasingly on the receiving end of a whirlwind of international partnerships and deals involving AI. The following is a timeline of the Korean government’s actions and efforts regarding AI since the beginning of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s term in May 2022:

September 26, 2024 – At the launching ceremony for Korea’s Presidential Committee on AI (PCAI), President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterates his administration’s plans for Korea to become a top three AI global power by 2027 and announces the establishment of a national AI computing center. Korean companies pledge to invest $48.9 billion into AI development by 2027.

September 26, 2024 – The National Assembly passes a bill that raises statutory penalties for editing and distributing false video footage, including deepfake AI imagery.

September 24, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT opens the Global AI Frontier Lab in New York City jointly with NYU. Investment commitments by the Korean government and NYU total $34 million and $32 million, respectively, through 2028. The lab aims to draw top AI researchers from both the United States and Korea.

September 22-23, 2024 – Korea attends the Summit of the Future, hosted by the United Nations, and endorses the Global Digital Compact within the Pact for the Future, committing to the responsible use of AI and global cooperation on AI capabilities and forming a worldwide Scientific Panel on AI.

September 9-10, 2024 – Korea hosts the Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) Summit in Seoul. A total of 61 countries endorse an AI “Blueprint for Action,” which calls for the responsible governance of AI, continuing global and regional dialogues on AI in the military domain, and preventing AI use in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-state actors.

August 26, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT releases its Science and Technology Sovereignty Blueprint, investing $23 billion over five years into 12 national strategic technology areas, including AI.

July 30, 2024 – President Yoon hosts British-American AI expert Andrew Ng at the Presidential Office, where Ng states plans to create an AI fund for Korea to foster startups and was invited to join Korea’s National AI Committee Global Advisory Group.

July 30, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT forms an official National Artificial Intelligence Committee to review and coordinate national AI policies. At its first meeting, chaired by President Yoon, the Committee announces plans to raise the deployment rate of AI in corporate and manufacturing sectors to 70 percent and 40 percent, respectively, by 2030.

July 4, 2024 – The National Assembly advances (i.e., as yet unpassed) a bill promoting the development and use of AI, including the development of a National AI Center and the establishment of a National AI Committee.

June 28, 2024 – The National Assembly advances the “Basic Law on Artificial Intelligence Technology” to establish a framework for AI policy and the establishment of an AI Policy Center.

June 20, 2024 – In its capacity as President of the UN Security Council, Korea convenes an open debate on cybersecurity chaired by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul covering the global impact of technologies such as AI..

June 19, 2024 – The National Assembly advances two bills on AI—the “Promotion of [the] Artificial Intelligence Industry and Securing Trust” and “Fostering Artificial Intelligence Industry and Ensuring Trust.” Both aim to establish policy foundations for the development of AI as well as the promotion of the AI industry.

June 17, 2024 – The National Assembly advances a bill on the “Development of Artificial Intelligence and Creation of a Trust Base” to create rights and standards for the use of AI among the Korean public.

May 31, 2024 – The National Assembly advances a bill on “Fostering the Artificial Intelligence Industry and Ensuring Trust” to establish guidelines on the use of AI.

May 28, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT announces plans to invest $27.3 million through 2028 to help establish an AI research hub in Korea.

May 22, 2024 – Korea hosts the “AI Global Forum” alongside the AI Seoul Summit with leaders from global technology companies such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.

May 21-22, 2024 – Together with the government of the United Kingdom, Korea co-hosts the AI Seoul Summit in Korea as a follow-up to the AI Safety Summit held in the United Kingdom the year before. The summit produces the Seoul Declaration for Safe, Innovative, and Inclusive AI, along with the Seoul Statement of Intent toward International Cooperation on AI Safety Science, Ministerial Statement, and Frontier AI Safety Commitments. In the lead-up to the summit, President Yoon co-authors an opinion piece with then UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the need for global standards in AI.

May 8, 2024 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy launches an AI Industrial Policy Committee to develop policies for the industrial utilization of AI.

April 25, 2024 – The Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology adopts a “game-changer technology initiative,” aiming to make Korea a first mover in AI chips, advanced biology, and quantum technologies by 2030. The advisory council also announces the doubling of Korea’s quantum technology budget.

April 11, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially launch the US-Korea AI Working Group, which was agreed to as part of the US-Korea Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue held in December 2023.

April 9, 2024 – At the Korean government’s “Semiconductor Special Issue Review Meeting,” led by the Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, President Yoon pledges to make Korea one of the three leading nations in the world on AI. He states that Korea will invest $6.94 billion into AI by 2027 and announces a separate $1 billion fund to foster AI semiconductor firms.

April 1, 2024 – The Ministry of National Defense establishes a Defense AI Center as one of the projects driving the Korean government’s “Defense Innovation 4.0” initiative launched in March 2023.

April 1, 2024 – The Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of National Defense sign an MOU to enhance cooperation in the field of science and technology, including civil-military technology cooperation on semiconductors and AI.

March 18, 2024 – Korea hosts the 2024 Summit for Democracy. President Yoon states that “the international community must work together to ensure that artificial intelligence and digital technology contribute to world peace and prosperity.” During the plenary session, he delivers comments on the spread of AI-manipulated disinformation and the need for digital systems to stop the spread of fake news and disinformation.

February 29, 2024 – President Yoon meets with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Korea to discuss cooperation between Korean companies and Meta’s AI and digital ecosystems.

January 15, 2024 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announces its plan to construct a $471 billion semiconductor “mega-cluster” in Gyeonggi Province through 2047, which will assist in supporting next-generation AI technologies.

December 28, 2023 – Korea’s National Assembly amends the “Public Official Election Act,” to prohibit the use of AI produced deepfake content for election campaigning purposes within 90 days of an election.

December 11-15, 2023 – President Yoon makes a state visit to the Netherlands, where the leaders of both countries commit to collaborate on organizing the REAIM Summit. During the joint press conference following the summit, President Yoon states that the two countries “will jointly serve a leading role in the formation of AI-related norms.”

December 8, 2023 – As a follow-up to the commitments made at the Camp David Summit in August 2023, the United States, Korea, and Japan sign a trilateral national laboratories cooperation framework, which specifies AI as a candidate area for cooperation.

The United States and Korea also release a joint fact sheet regarding the bilateral Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Dialogue. As part of the CET Dialogue, the United States and Korea commit to “deepen collaboration on international governance frameworks for AI” and “welcoming progress in our respective domestic policy processes on AI governance.”

An MOU on technology standards between the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards is concluded. The United States and Korea also commit toward launching a new bilateral AI Working Group.

November 1-2, 2023 – President Yoon and Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho attend the first AI Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom, conferring with representatives from other countries on the responsible governance of AI.

October 26, 2023 – At the 4th AI High-Level Strategic Dialogue held in Seoul, the Ministry of Science and ICT announces plan to consider the use of watermarks in AI-generated content and the establishment of a regulatory framework to facilitate voluntary AI reliability verification.

September 25, 2023 – The Ministry of Science and ICT releases a Digital Bill of Rights to serve as a “manifesto for a universal digital order,” which was referenced in President Yoon’s “Digital Vision” speech at NYU.

September 21, 2023 – At the 2023 Digital Vision Forum at NYU, President Yoon delivers remarks touching on “global concerns about the trustworthiness and safety of AI,” stating that “all AI systems and digital technologies must be developed and used with respect for the freedom and dignity of humanity as uncompromising core values.”

As part of the visit, an “ROK Institutions-NYU AI and Digital Partnership” MOU is signed between NYU, KAIST, the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation, and the Korea Software Industry Association.

September 20, 2023 – President Yoon addresses the UN General Assembly and delivers a speech outlining Korea’s plans to address the “digital divide.”

He states Korea’s plans to “collaborate closely with the ‘High-Level Advisory Body on AI’ being established by the UN to provide a network for communication and collaboration among global experts.”

August 18, 2023 – The United States, Korea, and Japan release the “Spirit of Camp David” joint statement after holding their first stand-alone trilateral summit, where the three countries commit to working together on AI and quantum computing.

The commitments are fleshed out in trilateral commitments on national laboratories and technology standards cooperation in an accompanying Camp David factsheet.

August 3, 2023 – Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) releases “Policy Direction for Safe Use of Personal Information in the Artificial Intelligence Era,” establishing principles on how the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) will process data containing personal information as it relates to AI.

July 13, 2023 – The Ministry of Science and ICT and Google jointly coordinate “AI for Korea 2023,” conference where both agree to collaborate on research and development and talent development on AI.

July 12, 2023 – 23 Korean companies specializing in cloud computing take part in the establishment of the “Cloud Data-center Alliance” (CDA) at the Cloud Data Center Council.

June 26, 2023 – The Ministry of Science and ICT launches phase one of its “K-Cloud project,” which includes a commitment of $100 billion to develop neural processing units (NPU) for AI data centers through 2025.

JoongAng Ilbo reports that stage two aims to create a DRAM-based low-power processing-in-memory (PIM) chip by 2028, while the final stage aims to upgrade PIM chips based on “non-volatile memory and super-low energy consumption” by 2030.

June 21, 2023 – President Yoon delivers remarks at the Paris Digital Vision Forum and calls for the establishment of a “new digital order” and “fair access and equal opportunities regarding digital data and information,” as well as the creation of an international organization for establishing rules pertaining to digital ethics.

June 9, 2023 – President Yoon meets with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Seoul, where they agree on the need for global standards to address externalities stemming from AI. According to Korea Times, Sam Altman encourages Korea to “reduce regulations on AI products and services, and actively participate in setting up international standards.”

April 28, 2023 – In President Yoon’s address to the US Congress as part of his state visit, he remarks that the United States and Korea will “work closely on artificial intelligence, quantum technology, bioscience, and Open RAN.”

February 20, 2023 – The Ministry of Science and ICT tables out its K-Network 2030 Strategy, which aims to “make efforts to secure AI chip technology for communication” and apply AI chips and AI-enabled power optimization systems to network base stations.

February 15, 2023 – The Ministry of Science and ICT announces an investment of $34.9 million by 2025 into a Research Data Center of AI Innovation Hub at Korea University. Their objective is to integrate the AI capabilities of regional universities, businesses, and research institutions into a global national AI research network.

October 28, 2022 – The Ministry of Science and ICT releases its National Strategic Technology Nurture Plan, planning to invest $200 million into R&D investment on advanced technologies and strengthen science and technology collaboration.

September 28, 2022 – The Ministry of Science and ICT announces its “Digital Strategy of Korea,” indicating AI as one of the six future technological development areas for Korea. It outlines intensive investment in AI, including “the world’s best AI infrastructure” for neural processing units, supercomputers, and hyper-scale AI models. It also highlights Korea “playing a central role in shaping international AI norms from 2023.”

The Digital Strategy earmarks $227.8 million for the 2022-2026 period toward next-generation AI technology and $770 million for AI semiconductors.

September 21, 2022 – President Yoon delivers remarks at the 2022 Digital Vision Forum at NYU, dubbed the “New York Initiative,” and calls for a “fair and reasonable framework of voluntary norms” regarding the use of digital technologies. As part of the visit, NYU and KAIST sign a MOU on topics including AI convergence.

September 20, 2022 – President Yoon addresses the UN General Assembly and speaks on Korea’s plans to transform the Korean government into a “digital platform government.”

September 8, 2022 – The Ministry of Science and Technology announces its “Comprehensive Plan to Nurture Digital Talent” aiming to develop one million experts with digital skills. It also initiates an AI Education Alliance and Policy Lab (AIEDAP) to raise the digital capacity of Korean teachers.

June 29, 2022 – Korea joins the OECD’s Working Party on AI Governance Steering Committee, with Korea Information Society Director Ko Sangwon elected as Vice Chair.

June 27, 2022 – The Ministry of Science and ICT releases its “Support Plan for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Semiconductor Industry Promotion,” investing $786 million over five years toward AI chip technology, expanding joint research with the United States and other countries, and aiming to develop 7,000 AI chip experts in Korea.

May 21, 2022 – President Yoon hosts President Biden for a summit meeting in Korea. As part of their joint statement, they agree to enhance cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, including on AI and leading-edge semiconductors.

 

Tom Ramage is an Economic Policy Analyst at the Korea Economic Institute of America. The views expressed here are the author’s alone.

Photo from Shutterstock.

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