Baek Kyunghoon: "AI Competition Will Be Decided in 2–3 Years... A Korean Company Like Anthropic Must Emerge"

Presiding Over a Roundtable with Independent AI Companies

Yonhap News Agency

"The global competition in artificial intelligence (AI) will be determined within the next two to three years. A Korean company on the scale of Anthropic must emerge on the global stage."

On March 18, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon presided over a roundtable with independent AI-related companies at the main conference room of the Science and Technology Advisory Council, emphasizing, "We must not miss the AI golden time."

The meeting was attended by four companies participating in the Independent AI Foundation Model Project—LG AI Research, Upstage, SK Telecom, and Motif Technologies—as well as leading domestic AI companies such as Naver, Kakao, and NC AI. The gathering was organized to discuss securing independent AI for national security and promoting public AI services.

Vice Prime Minister Baek stated, "Despite the short period since the current administration took office, our world-class AI companies have achieved remarkable results by continuously launching independent AI models and building an AI ecosystem that is drawing global attention. In light of recent developments in the Middle East, the need to secure independent AI as a national strategic asset for autonomous control and balance is being further emphasized."

He continued, "The ultimate goal of independent AI development is to provide services that allow our people to experience and benefit from AI. Just as companies like Naver and Daum (Kakao) grew to win the love of the public and compete globally during the transition to the internet economy, I urge all of us to combine our efforts so that, with bold investments and challenges, a Korean company can compete with confidence on the world stage in the AI era."

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