South Korea unveils national AI infrastructure strategy
The government cited China’s DeepSeek breakthrough as a catalyst for accelerating its national AI strategy.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has announced a comprehensive whole-of-government strategy to expand the country’s AI computing infrastructure and strengthen national AI capabilities.
The strategy is built around three pillars: expanding AI computing infrastructure, developing next-generation AI models, and accelerating AI adoption across public services. To strengthen computing capacity, the government aims to secure 18,000 high-performance GPUs by the first half of 2026, with 10,000 acquired through a public-private National AI Computing Centre and another 8,000 deployed as part of a sixth national supercomputer.
To advance domestic AI development, the government plans to launch a flagship initiative provisionally named the ‘World’s Best LLM’ project. Selected AI teams will receive dedicated access to computing resources, datasets and research funding. A Global AI Challenge will also be launched to attract leading domestic and international researchers, with winners offered startup support or positions within flagship AI projects.
Talent development is another key pillar. South Korea plans to expand its AI Frontier Labs beyond New York into Europe and other regions, establish AI Transformation graduate schools through industry-university partnerships and offer competitive salaries, research funding and relocation support to attract leading international AI experts.
The third pillar focuses on deploying domestically developed AI models across public services, including healthcare, education, the legal system, public administration, disaster management and content creation.
Why does it matter?
South Korea’s strategy reflects a growing global shift towards treating AI as strategic national infrastructure rather than simply a commercial technology. By combining investments in computing capacity, foundation models, talent development and public-sector deployment, the government is pursuing a comprehensive approach to strengthening technological competitiveness and digital sovereignty.
The plan also illustrates how competition in AI increasingly extends beyond model development alone. Access to high-performance computing, skilled researchers and coordinated industrial policy is becoming just as important as algorithmic innovation, with governments playing a more active role in shaping national AI ecosystems.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!