Government to Invest 563 Billion KRW in Software This Year... Nurturing 250 Companies with 100 Billion KRW Each

'Software Promotion Strategy' Announcement
Fostering 10,000 SaaS Companies by 2026

The government will invest 563 billion KRW this year to strengthen the foundational capabilities of software (SW). The plan is to nurture 250 software companies in the 100 billion KRW club by 2027 and train 200,000 software and artificial intelligence (AI) specialists.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced a joint 'Software Promotion Strategy' with related ministries at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting to strengthen the digital foundational capabilities and promote overseas expansion.

This strategy is a statutory basic plan based on Article 5 of the Software Promotion Act. It will be implemented as a five-year plan from this year through 2027, with an investment of 563 billion KRW this year alone. It was prepared to respond to environmental changes such as the recent global spread of generative AI and to solidify digital foundational capabilities. The plan is to initiate a comprehensive structural reform of the software industry in response to global environmental changes.

First, it aims to raise the software capabilities of the entire population and establish a foundation for nurturing professionals who will lead digital innovation. The number of information subject hours will be more than doubled by 2025. By 2027, 200,000 advanced and specialized software and AI talents will be trained. To this end, the number of AI and AI Convergence Innovation Graduate Schools will be expanded from the current 15 to 22 by 2025, and Metaverse graduate schools will increase from 2 to 10 by 2026.

Next, investments will be expanded to proactively secure future software technologies such as hardware-aware software (HW-aware SW), which develops software algorithms considering the characteristics and constraints of hardware. Kang Do-hyun, Director of the Information and Communication Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "To solve carbon neutrality and power issues caused by the spread of generative AI, it is necessary to reduce power consumption and optimize related hardware such as AI semiconductors. We will focus on developing system software optimized for each hardware."

An open-source innovation ecosystem based on openness and cooperation will be established. The 'Open Software Portal' will be improved to enable domestic developers and companies to easily share information and collaborate.

Service-as-a-Software (SaaS) will be actively fostered to promote structural reform of the domestic software industry. The goal is to nurture 10,000 SaaS companies by 2026. This year, 30.5 billion KRW will be invested to support customized programs for SaaS companies, and from next year, projects supporting the development and commercialization of innovative SaaS applying generative AI will be launched. The AI-based digital textbooks scheduled for introduction in 2025 will also be developed as SaaS, and a direct purchase system for SaaS will be introduced.

To nurture strong small and medium-sized software companies aiming at the global market, a support system for export-type sales and overseas expansion will be established to foster more than 250 software companies in the 100 billion KRW sales club by 2027. Director Kang said, "Many software companies hope to expand globally based on the cloud. The government intends to play a strong supporting role for these companies."

The revision of subordinate laws to strengthen the 'Software Impact Assessment System' will be completed in the second half of the year, and leading cases for the expansion of private investment-type software projects will be discovered. Cultural diffusion will also be promoted to help increase the individual coding experience rate from 10.3% in 2021 to 30% by 2027.

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "Software is the foundation that drives innovation and growth of digital new technologies, so strengthening its foundational capabilities is of utmost importance. We will carefully manage key policies such as digital talent training, foundational technology development, and institutional improvements to build a foundation for a great leap forward as a model digital nation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.