Ha Jung-woo calls for a rethink of Korea’s national AI foundation model project

Ha Jung-woo, standing vice chairman of South Korea’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, said the country needs to reconsider the direction of its national AI foundation model project.

He questioned whether the project’s original goal remains valid and called for a new system that would allow groups with the country’s highest-level capabilities to work together. He also said South Korea should examine how to reduce its gap with frontier AI models, which lead in performance and general-purpose capability.

“

We need to think again about whether the goal of the national AI foundation model project remains valid and what approach should be taken to narrow the gap with frontier AI. We also need to create a system in which groups with the highest-level capabilities in South Korea can join forces.