South Korea Aims to Develop Self-Sufficient AI Model, Compete with U.S. and China

South Korea has tasked its tech companies with developing a national-level AI model, integrating a range of domestic technologies from semiconductors to software. This initiative aims to create a nearly self-sufficient AI industry, positioning South Korea as an alternative to the U.S. and China.

The project involves multiple large enterprises and promising startups, leveraging local technologies to build a foundational AI model. This move is designed to help South Korea keep pace with the advancements made by the U.S. and China. The government hopes to establish an AI industry that is almost entirely self-reliant, offering a viable alternative to the technologies developed by the two global superpowers.

South Korea's approach to AI development is unique compared to other countries. The country aims to combine its leadership in storage chip production with the development of domestic AI technologies. The Science and ICT Ministry has selected five corporate alliances to participate in the model's development. One of these alliances is led by SK Telecom, a major telecommunications company, and includes members such as the game company Krafton and the chip startup Rebellions.

Other alliances are led by prominent South Korean companies like LG and Naver. The initiative is seen as a critical step in solidifying South Korea's technological foundation and ensuring its competitiveness in the global AI landscape. The country's strengths lie in its strategic positioning of certain enterprises and the technologies they have developed, which are crucial for AI.

For instance, SK Hynix produces high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component in Nvidia's products. Samsung is another major player in the storage sector. SK Telecom is expanding its business into data centers, while Rebellions, a member of the SK Telecom alliance, is developing chips specifically for handling AI workloads. Additionally, Samsung has its own chip manufacturing business, which includes wafer fabrication.

This comprehensive approach means South Korea possesses a complete AI technology stack, from chips to cloud services and AI models, along with a strong team of advanced AI researchers who actively publish papers and apply for patents. However, due to the complexity of the technology supply chain, no single country can independently complete all tasks. These corporate alliances will still rely on GPUs from Nvidia, which have become the gold standard for training AI models.

SK Telecom will train its models on its self-developed "Titan" supercomputer, which is composed of Nvidia GPUs, as well as an AI data center developed in collaboration with Amazon. The company is not new to the AI model arena. In 2022, it launched a test version of a chatbot based on its proprietary large language model, named "A." Since then, it has developed more advanced versions of the model and the chatbot.

The alliance led by SK Telecom plans to release its first model by the end of this year. Initially, the model will focus on the Korean market but has the potential for global application. It will be open-source, allowing developers to use it freely and build upon it, although there may be some licensing requirements. Any AI models produced by this South Korean project will face stiff competition from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as from Chinese firms like Alibaba and DeepSeek, which have released numerous high-quality open-source products.

Given that companies like SK Telecom already have extensive experience in developing AI models, the challenge lies not in building the models themselves, but in creating models that can compete with those from leading AI labs, which are investing tens of billions of dollars in research and development. Another challenge is attracting developers to build on these models, a key factor in the success of open-source models from companies like Alibaba.

The goal is to develop models that can compete with those from major tech companies. The primary objective is to create a highly powerful, industry-leading open-source model that can match the performance of models from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Different sizes of models will be developed to cater to various industries.

Open-source national-level AI models offer numerous benefits, allowing businesses across South Korea to access the latest technologies without relying on foreign tech giants. Additionally, South Korea's AI models could serve as an alternative to systems developed by the U.S. and China. The successful development of sovereign AI models not only brings domestic benefits but also has significant export potential. Just as South Korea has excelled in the storage chip sector, these models could become important products for other countries seeking alternatives to U.S. and Chinese systems, further solidifying South Korea's position in the global AI landscape.

The core of South Korea's initiative is the concept of "sovereign AI," which is gaining recognition in many countries. The idea is that AI models and services of strategic importance should be developed within the country and run on domestic servers. As the U.S. and China vie for dominance in AI, major countries are increasingly focusing on AI sovereignty. Given the growing impact of AI on critical sectors such as healthcare, finance, defense, and government, countries cannot afford to cede control of their digital intelligence to foreign entities.

South Korea's strategy involves taking control of more segments of the technology supply chain while still relying on some infrastructure from companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft. This comprehensive, full-stack approach positions South Korea to stand out in the global competition for sovereign AI.