But Seoul’s more ambitious longer-term idea of building a frontier model capable of competing with the world’s most advanced systems would require it to overcome a persistent gap in AI software, computing capacity and large-scale training, analysts said.
The initiative reflects a broader push for “AI sovereignty”, with governments in Japan, Britain, Canada and across the European Union investing in domestic models and computing infrastructure to reduce their reliance on foreign providers.
Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon unveiled the plan on Thursday after Washington imposed new export restrictions on several advanced AI models, including Anthropic’s Mythos 5.
Bae warned that AI-powered cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
“AI can be used to identify security vulnerabilities and exploit them with ease, so we need to prepare our defences accordingly,” he said.
