South Korea Launches National AI Strategy Committee Under President Lee Jae-myung's Direct Leadership

President Lee Jae-myung personally chairs the newly launched National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, which officially began operations on September 8, marking South Korea's strategic governmental push to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses. The inaugural ceremony held at Seoul Square announced the upcoming release of a comprehensive "Korea AI Action Plan" by November, establishing AI policy as a cornerstone of the Lee administration's national agenda.

For American readers unfamiliar with South Korea's political structure, this represents a significant shift in how the country approaches technology policy. Unlike the decentralized approach often seen in U.S. federal agencies, South Korea's system allows for rapid, centralized decision-making when the president directly leads an initiative. This top-down approach has historically enabled Korea to achieve remarkable technological leaps, from broadband internet adoption to 5G network deployment.

Presidential Control Tower for AI Policy Integration

The National AI Strategy Committee serves as the supreme coordinating body for AI policies previously scattered across various ministries, demonstrating the government's strong commitment through this symbolic organizational structure. The committee has been significantly strengthened by expanding membership from 45 to 50 members and increasing vice-chairpersons from one to three positions. Particularly notable is Lim Moon-young, chairman of the Democratic Party's Digital Special Committee, who serves as the full-time vice-chairman responsible for day-to-day operations, while the Ministers of Science and ICT and Strategy and Finance serve as part-time vice-chairpersons handling policy coordination functions.

This launch represents not merely organizational restructuring but a paradigm shift in AI policy. The policy of deploying 34 private sector experts across eight divisions to directly reflect field voices in policy clearly shows the government's intention to break away from bureaucrat-centered policy decisions and pursue substantial innovation. The participation of key industry figures such as Park Tae-ung, director of the Democratic Research Institute's Collective Intelligence Center, and Cho Joon-hee, chairman of the Korea Artificial Intelligence and Software Association, is expected to serve as a bridge connecting theory and reality.

To put this in American context, imagine if President Biden personally chaired a National AI Council with direct authority over policy across all federal agencies, combining roles similar to the National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Korean approach concentrates decision-making authority in ways that would be challenging in the U.S. system of checks and balances, but potentially allows for faster implementation of national AI strategies.

November AI Action Plan to Present Concrete Roadmap

The committee's "Korea AI Action Plan" will consist of specific actionable measures rather than simple policy listings. It includes detailed implementation plans across 12 strategic areas under three policy pillars: creating an AI innovation ecosystem, national AI-based transformation, and contributing to global AI-based society. Particularly noteworthy is the "National AI Computing Center Promotion Plan for Building AI Highway," which is attracting attention as a national competitiveness strategy at the infrastructure level.

The government has presented an ambitious plan to secure 15,000 advanced GPUs by 2028 and 50,000 by 2030 through establishing a public-private joint special purpose corporation (SPC). This represents a strategic decision to build core infrastructure for AI development and utilization at the national level, going beyond simple hardware procurement. In the current context of global GPU shortages and U.S.-China technology competition, such preemptive investment is analyzed to play a crucial role in securing Korea's AI sovereignty.

For American readers, this GPU acquisition plan is remarkable in scale and approach. While the U.S. government has focused on export controls and private sector partnerships, Korea is taking a more direct state-led approach to securing critical AI infrastructure. The plan represents approximately $15-20 billion in investment, comparable to major U.S. federal research initiatives. This reflects Korea's historical success with government-led technology development, similar to how they dominated memory semiconductors and display technologies.

The enactment of subordinate legislation for the AI Basic Act is also being addressed as a core task. The plan is to provide clear guidelines for AI development and utilization through establishing a legal foundation while building a reasonable regulatory system that does not hinder innovation. This is interpreted as pursuing an independent approach reflecting Korean characteristics while aligning with global regulatory trends such as the EU's AI Act and U.S. AI executive orders.

Differentiated Strategy Compared to Previous Administration

The Lee administration's AI strategy shows several distinct differences compared to the previous government. First is the fact that the president directly serves as chairman, bringing political leadership to the forefront. This is a strong expression of will to elevate AI policy from simple ministry policy to the highest priority of national strategy. Also noteworthy is the attempt to increase realism and expertise in the policy decision process by significantly increasing the proportion of private sector experts.

Vice-chairman Lim Moon-young stated, "The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, the nation's highest AI strategic organization, will operate as a mission-oriented organization utilizing collective intelligence of the leading economic era." This shows the will to break away from existing bureaucratic decision-making methods and gather wisdom from various stakeholders to create substantial results. The expression "mission-oriented organization" is particularly interpreted as heralding result-centered operations focused on achieving specific goals.

The government has also clearly stated its policy of bundling previously scattered AI policies across ministries to increase momentum through this committee launch. This is read as an intention to eliminate policy duplication and inefficiency while strategically concentrating limited resources for focused investment. Particularly, by having core ministry leaders such as the Ministers of Science and ICT and Strategy and Finance participate as vice-chairpersons, they have built a system that can coordinate inter-ministerial interests and secure policy consistency.

In comparison to U.S. AI governance, Korea's centralized approach contrasts sharply with America's more distributed system involving multiple agencies, congressional oversight, and private sector leadership. While the U.S. National AI Initiative relies heavily on coordination between existing agencies and private sector innovation, Korea's approach concentrates authority and resources under direct presidential control. This reflects different political systems and governance philosophies, with Korea prioritizing speed and coordination over the checks and balances emphasized in American democracy.

The launch of the National AI Strategy Committee is evaluated as a strategic turning point for Korea to secure dominance in the AI era, going beyond simple organizational establishment. The specific content and implementation process of the AI Action Plan to be announced in November is expected to serve as an important test for determining the success of the Lee administration's AI policy, with the government's execution capability for achieving the ambitious goal of becoming one of the world's top three AI powers drawing attention.

This development positions South Korea as a significant player in the global AI competition alongside the United States and China. For American policymakers and business leaders, Korea's concentrated approach to AI development represents both a competitive challenge and a potential model for rapid technological advancement in strategic sectors. As the U.S. continues to debate federal AI policy coordination and funding, Korea's direct presidential leadership of AI strategy offers an interesting contrast in governance approaches to emerging technologies.

Original Korean article: 이재명 정부, 국가인공지능전략위원회 출범으로 'AI 강국' 도약 본격 시동