[Inside Chodong] With the KOSPI Approaching 8000, a Major Shift in AI Investment Is Urgently Needed

Investment Must Come First for Korea to Develop Its Own 'Mythos'

"Now that Korea has entered the KOSPI 8000 era, shouldn't our investment approach also change? We must look beyond 2030 and invest more aggressively in science, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI)."

At the inaugural meeting of the 'Science, Technology, and AI Future Strategy Meeting' held at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council in Gwanghwamun on the afternoon of the 13th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon drew attention by strongly emphasizing the need for concentrated investment in science and technology. When the Lee Jaemyung administration took office, the KOSPI index was only at 2,700, but in less than a year, it has surpassed five major milestones and is now on the verge of reaching 8,000, with the 10,000 mark in sight.

Baek pointed out that, as Korea aspires to become one of the 'top three AI powerhouses,' it is necessary to closely examine whether the current level of investment is sufficient. Drawing on his experience at LG AI Research, where he achieved results by developing the AI model 'Exaone' with limited infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Baek remarked, "If we had 5,000 or 10,000 advanced GPUs, Korea could build models at the world’s highest level." He expressed concern, stating, "We need to consider from a long-term perspective whether the current government budget and corporate investments are truly sufficient."

He reminded attendees that, in reality, the government's investment budget does not even match the investment of a single big tech company in the United States, and that Korean companies are struggling against this backdrop. Nevertheless, with the continued achievements of K-AI models, Korea is meeting these ongoing challenges. He reiterated that now is the time to prepare more aggressively for the future through bold investments. When the Ministry of Science and ICT established its 2045 future strategy in 2020, there was no roadmap for the rise of generative AI. The rapid transformation ushered in by the emergence of ChatGPT, and the imminent era of physical AI, have fueled a sense of crisis that Korea may fall behind if it fails to prepare for the future.

On the afternoon of the 13th, at the inaugural meeting of the 'Science and Technology and Artificial Intelligence Future Strategy Meeting' held at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon is giving a speech.

Experts attending the Science, Technology, and AI Future Strategy Meeting that day actively supported Deputy Prime Minister Baek’s views. Shin Jinwoo, Distinguished Professor at KAIST and Head of the Technology Innovation and Infrastructure Division at the National AI Strategy Committee, commented, "Korea is aiming for the top three in AI, but we already have sufficient industrial capabilities to become number one, and if we engineer our existing technologies well, we have a real chance." He added, "If we concentrate our investments in AI over the next two to three years, Korea could develop AI models similar to Anthropic’s 'Mythos.'"

As public interest grows in whether Korea can participate in Anthropic’s cyber security initiative, 'Project Glasswing,' there is a growing call for Korea to boldly challenge itself by recognizing that it can develop AI models like Mythos. Deputy Prime Minister Baek, who pointed out that "Korea is aiming for top-three competitiveness in AI, but our awareness and preparation are still lacking," revealed, "We are considering ways to develop a Korean version of Mythos by leveraging proprietary AI foundation models."

With the global shockwave caused by concerns that AI could be misused for cyberattacks—the so-called 'Mythos shock'—governments worldwide are now competing to participate in the Glasswing Project. Reports indicate that Japan’s three major banks may secure access rights as early as this month. Korea, too, must actively seek participation in the Glasswing Project and deliver tangible results as a top priority. Moreover, public and private sectors must work together in a two-track strategy to enable Korea to create models like Mythos. Without focused investment, there is no future.

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