Go big or go home: South Korean presidential hopefuls pledge mega AI investments
South Korean candidates from the rival main political parties on both sides of the aisle are rolling out various AI policies on the campaign trail. PHOTO: REUTERS
Go big or go home: South Korean presidential hopefuls pledge mega AI investments
SEOUL - In South Korea's heated race for the early presidential election on June 3, artificial intelligence has become the latest buzzword.
Candidates are vying to outbid one another with eye-popping investments and grand promises, each casting themselves as the ideal leader for the new era.
From a 'Korean-style ChatGPT' to mandatory military service exemptions for tech talent to ambitious plans to nurture the next Nvidia or Palantir, candidates from the rival main parties on both sides of the aisle are rolling out various policies on the campaign trail.
However, observers warn that many of the plans lack concrete road maps or practical details.
Numbers game
Overall front-runner Representative Lee Jae-myung, former chair of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea kicked off the AI race by pledging a 100 trillion won (S$91.9 billion) investment in AI over five years to strengthen Korea's global competitiveness in AI.
With this massive budget, he vowed to build national AI data clusters, secure more than 50,000 cutting-edge graphic processing units and support the development of AI-critical neural processing units.
He also floated the idea of developing a 'Korean-style ChatGPT', providing it free to the public.
Other plans incudes creating schools specialised in AI at national universities and expanding the range of mandatory military service exemptions for science and tech talent.
Fellow Democratic Party candidates Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon and former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kyoung-soo also joined the investment spree, each pledging the same 100 trillion won.
Mr Kim Dong-yeon, with a focus on building large-scale infrastructure and ecosystem, pledged to secure 1 million GPUs and nurture 100 top-tier AI professionals.
Mr Kim Kyoung-soo's plan focuses on public-private partnerships to develop a Korean AI foundation model in a bid to secure 'AI sovereignty'.
Attempting to outmatch the liberal bloc, conservative presidential hopeful Han Dong-hoon, former justice minister and leader of People Power Party, raised the stakes to 200 trillion won in what is the largest promise by a contender yet.
Of that, 150 trillion won is earmarked for infrastructure, with the remainder allocated to AI-related fields such as in defense, health care and robotics.
He also proposed to create a new government agency, tentatively named the Ministry of Future and Strategy, and pledged to nurture 10,000 AI experts.
Another People Power Party hopeful, Mr Hong Joon-pyo, the recently resigned mayor of Daegu, pitched a relatively modest 50 trillion won.
His policies include expanding research and development in cutting-edge industries including, AI, quantum computing and superconductors, along with pushing for a 'gate-free' innovation model of reducing barriers and regulatory hurdles for new technologies and businesses.
Mr Kim Moon-soo, former labour minister, promised 100 trillion won to foster 200,000 talented AI professionals and develop an AI-based education system.
Meanwhile, Representative Ahn Cheol-soo of People Power Party, who was once an anti-virus software entrepreneur and medical doctor, touted himself as the most qualified candidate to lead the AI industry.
Mr Ahn laid out broader science and tech agenda, pledging to train 1 million science and tech experts, boosting R&D spending to 5 per cent of GDP and establishing a 20 trillion won start-up fund.
Money will not build AI nation
Despite the parade of lofty promises, observers are raising concerns that many of the proposals lack practical details.
Even more tech-savvy presidential contenders have attacked one another for being out of touch.
Mr Lee Jun-seok, candidate for the minor conservative Reform Party, who studied computer engineering and economics at Harvard University, blasted candidates' policies as 'scam-level', that lacks understanding of the industry.
'The fundamentals of the AI industry come from stimulating private investments,' Mr Lee told reporters on April 16.
'What's important is talking about deregulation, but discussing superficial things like 100 or 200 trillion won only shows a lack of understanding of this industry,' according to him.
Mr Lee Jun-seok further condemned Mr Lee Jae-myung's policy of providing free AI services to the Korean public, as a 'foolish attempt linked to his 'freebie' policy series'.
He also took a swing at Mr Han for simply doubling Mr Lee Jae-myung's proposed investment amount to 200 trillion won.
Mr Ahn echoed a similar view, saying: 'Without a mid- to long-term blueprint for national science and technology development, shouting 100 trillion won without any consideration won't develop AI technology.'
While experts and industry officials welcomed the surge in focus and investment in AI at the national level, two of them voiced concern over the lack of detailed vision and actionable plans.
'The greater the national investment, the better,' said Dr Choi Byung-ho, a professor at Korea University's Human-inspired AI Research Lab.
'But the focus should be on what the budget supports and the overall direction.'
Prof Choi identified three priorities that the policies need to address if South Korea is serious about raising its AI competitiveness - talent, GPUs and data - the trio that are interdependent.
'At a time when the technology is accelerating, we need to invest more on people. Simply creating new AI departments won't solve the problem; that's been done before. But they need to make sure existing ones get the resources, research funding and benefits like military exemptions to retain talent,' said Prof Choi.
The professor stressed that securing GPUs are critical to running data centres and developing South Korea's own foundation model, which also require large amount of data.
'Obtaining data costs lots of money. Public data is still remains largely inaccessible, and so are legal documents and medical data. The question is whether the government will make these data accessible for AI, and if so, how and to what extent.'
Mr Kim Sung-hoon, CEO of Korean AI startup Upstage, also stressed these three pillars.
'I am very happy that all the presidential candidates have placed AI-related agendas at the top of their priorities,' Mr Kim said at a press event last week.
'But what's essential for AI development is support for training data, GPUs and the recruitment of top talent.' THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Iran's short-range weapons pose a threat to US Bases
A number of US bases are within range of Iran's short-range weapons. PHOTO: REUTERS Follow our live coverage here. WASHINGTON – Iran vowed to retaliate against American bases in the region even before the United States attacked its nuclear sites on June 21 , and US intelligence agencies have long warned that the military should prepare for such a response. While Iran will likely attempt a fierce barrage, US and Israeli officials said before the attacks on June 21 that Israel's strikes in recent days had severely damaged Iran's ability to mount attacks, wiping out launchers and damaging military bases. In more than a week of fighting before the US attacks, the Israeli air force struck Iranian missile launchers and launch teams, and Iran depleted its stockpile of medium-range missiles, according to US and Israeli officials. In an address from the White House on June 21 , President Donald Trump warned Iran against further actions, and demanded that Tehran 'make peace.' 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' Mr Trump said. 'But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.' Iran could ignore Mr Trump's comments and deploy its remaining medium-range missiles, or its short-range weapons and cruise missiles, which could be used to threaten US bases in the Middle East, according to experts. Mr Nicholas Carl, who studies Iran for the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, said those weapons have too short a range to be directly fired against Israel. But a number of US bases are within range. In addition to cruise missiles and rockets, Iran also has an ample supply of attack drones, which could be particularly effective if they are smuggled to Shiite militias in Iraq and fired at US bases there, US officials said. And the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, which reached a ceasefire agreement with the United States in May , could resume its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. 'Iran has many ways of imposing pressure on the West and the international community writ large,' Mr Carl said in an interview before the strike on the three nuclear sites. US officials said Iran would probably use its bases in the southern part of the country to launch missile attacks on US bases in the Persian Gulf. The fighting has strained Israel's supply of missile interceptors and Iran's capacity to attack. When the war began, Iran had some 2,000 long and midrange weapons, one of the largest collections in the region, according to Israeli officials. US officials have generally accepted that estimate. It is not clear how much of Iran's arsenal remains. The country has fired off hundreds of missiles, and Israel has damaged sites where they are stored. Israel's strikes on missile launchers have been even more significant, limiting Iran's ability to fire missiles and large-scale barrages, US officials and outside experts said. Israel's campaign has also hurt Iran's ability to coordinate attacks, according to experts and Israeli officials. US bases in the Middle East are protected by missile defences , and Iran would likely have to fire a large coordinated barrage of missiles to penetrate them. Mr Carl said Iran's capacity to fire large numbers of missiles is increasingly limited. At least half of Iran's launchers have been destroyed. 'As you begin to whittle away at the launchers, the Iranian ability to summon these large volumes of missile fire is diminished,' Mr Carl said. 'And that is a huge problem for Iran.' The Israeli attacks have forced Iran to change its tactics and operations. Mr Carl said that in response to Israel's strikes on missile crews preparing to launch weapons, Iran appeared to be trying to launch missiles more quickly. 'The Iranians appear to be accelerating their launch timeline,' Mr Carl said. 'That means it is harder to coordinate large-scale attacks across the country.' Key weaknesses in Iran's arsenal were revealed in attacks on Israel in 2024 . Israeli and US air defence proved adept at intercepting missiles. Iranian targeting is imperfect, and many missiles miss their targets. Quality control problems have led to significant numbers of malfunctions. To overcome those problems, Iran needs to be able to fire large numbers of missiles simultaneously. But as long as Israeli pressure on launch sites continues, experts say, Iran will struggle to fire large barrages, which could limit its ability to retaliate against US bases. US missile defences – ranging from Patriot batteries to Aegis destroyers – have the capacity to defend military bases in the region. Those defences will be more effective against small barrages of weapons. Iranian officials have said that US bases in Iraq would probably be their first targets, either with a direct missile strike or by rockets or drones fired by pro-Iran militias. Iran may not want to strike US bases in Arab countries, but that calculation would probably change after the US attacks on Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site, and other sites in Natanz and Isfahan, US officials said. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Air India crash risks fuelling up to 30% jump in airline insurance premiums
Premium hikes of that scale would be larger than previous crashes, given the enormity of the Air India accident, the brokers said. PHOTO: REUTERS MUMBAI – Indian insurance policy sellers expect the cost of coverage for airlines to spike as much as 30 per cent after the deadliest aviation crash in more than a decade. Sajja Praveen Chowdary, director at Indian broker Policybazaar, expects premiums for hull, war-risk, and liability coverage to increase by 10 per cent to 30 per cent in the next renewal cycle. Rohit Boda, group managing director at broker Group, predicts a rise of 10 per cent to 25 per cent. Premium hikes of that scale would be larger than previous crashes, given the enormity of the Air India accident, the brokers said. The crash killed 241 on board and dozens on the ground when it smashed into a residential area in the city of Ahmedabad on June 12. Insurance claims for the Air India crash are expected in the realm of US$475 million (S$612 million), including those for the aircraft's hull and engine as well as additional liability for loss of life, Bloomberg News reported earlier. Air India's fleet is insured for about US$20 billion in total, with an annual premium near US$30 million, according to data from Policybazaar. 'A catastrophe of this scale will contribute to hardening of global rates,' said Chowdary, director at Policybazaar for Business. Globally, crashes accounted for the majority of the US$15 billion in aviation claims during the five year period ended 2024, according to a report by insurance giant Allianz. Growth in air travel, fuelled by Asia-Pacific and North America, was expected to drive premiums to more than US$8 billion, according to the report. The insurance premium increase would be for all airlines, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. They added that the impact will be redistributed to airlines across the globe. The premium increase is expected to be large, and further loss of aircraft could drive premiums to a record, the people said. bloomberg Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
World awaits Iranian response after US hits nuclear sites, World News
ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM — The world braced on Sunday (June 22) for Iran's response after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. Iran vowed to defend itself a day after the US dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs onto the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear site while American leaders urged Tehran to stand down and pockets of anti-war protesters emerged in US cities. In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, US President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote. Iran and Israel continued to trade volleys of missile attacks. An Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli fighter jets had struck military targets in western Iran. Earlier, Iran fired missiles that wounded scores of people and flattened buildings in Tel Aviv. The US Department of Homeland Security warned of a "heightened threat environment" in America, citing the possibility of cyber attacks or targeted violence. Law enforcement in major US cities stepped up patrols with a focus on religious, cultural and diplomatic sites. The US State Department issued a security alert for all US citizens abroad that warned of the potential for demonstrations against Americans and travel disruptions due to closed airspace across the Middle East, calling on them to "exercise increased caution." Tehran has so far not followed through on its threats of retaliation against the United States — either by targeting US bases or trying to choke off global oil supplies — but that may not hold. Speaking in Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses. There would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated, he said. "The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force," he said. Trump, in a televised address, called the strikes "a spectacular military success" and boasted that Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated." Commercial satellite imagery indicated the US attack on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply-buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Satellite imagery from the US space technology company Maxar Technologies showed a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance of the facility on Thursday and Friday. Trump, who veered between offering to end the war with diplomacy or to join it before moving ahead with the biggest foreign policy gamble of his career, called on Iran to forgo any retaliation. He said the government "must now make peace" or "future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier." In a step towards what is widely seen as Iran's most effective threat to hurt the West, its parliament approved a move to close the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a quarter of global oil shipments pass through the narrow waters that Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said closing the strait would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Attempting to choke off Gulf oil by closing the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet, based in the Gulf and tasked with keeping the strait open. Brent crude and US crude futures rose to the highest levels since January on Sunday, with Brent crude increasing US$3.20 (S$4.13) to US$80.28 and US crude US$2.89 to US$76.73. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS's Face the Nation that there were no other planned military operations against Iran "unless they mess around." The UN Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the US strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the US bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a halt to fighting and return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. Diverging war aims Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment that has ruled Iran since 1979. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli reporters that Israel was very close to meeting its goals of removing the threats of ballistic missiles and the nuclear programme in Iran. US officials, many of whom witnessed Republican President George W. Bush's popularity collapse following his disastrous intervention in Iraq in 2003, have stressed that they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. "This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, calling the mission "a precision operation" targeting Iran's nuclear programme. Anti-war activists organised demonstrations on Sunday in New York, Washington and other US cities, with signs carrying messages such as "hands off Iran." Meanwhile, some Iranians said they feared the prospect of an enlarged conflict involving the US "Our future is dark. We have nowhere to go — it's like living in a horror movie," Bita, 36, a teacher from the central city of Kashan, said before the phone line was cut. Much of Tehran, a capital city of 10 million people, has emptied out, with residents fleeing to the countryside to escape Israeli bombardment. Iranian authorities say more than 400 people have been killed since Israel's attacks began, mostly civilians. Israel's bombardment has decimated much of Iran's military leadership with strikes targeted at bases and residential buildings where senior figures slept. Iran has been launching missiles back at Israel, killing at least 24 people over the past nine days. Air raid sirens sounded across most of Israel on Sunday, sending millions of people to safe rooms. In Tel Aviv, Aviad Chernovsky, 40, emerged from a bomb shelter to find his house had been destroyed in a direct hit. "It's not easy to live now in Israel (right now), but we are very strong," he said. "We know that we will win." [[nid:719352]]
