South Korea Announces Major Expansion in Cloud Computing to Boost AI Competitiveness

SEOUL: South Korea will significantly enhance its private-led cloud computing sector to boost its competitive edge in the global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, the Ministry of Science and ICT disclosed on Friday. According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry outlined a strategic plan aiming to double the size of the domestic cloud market to 10 trillion won (US$7.3 billion) by 2027, up from its current status in 2022. This ambitious expansion involves forming strategic partnerships with global entities and fostering local cloud enterprises. South Korea currently trails more than a year behind global leaders in cloud technology, and its AI cloud infrastructure is notably underdeveloped. In an effort to bridge this gap, the government will implement several initiatives to encourage the adoption of private cloud systems across various public sectors, including education, finance, and defense. These initiatives include easing regulations on network separation and expanding tax benefits for companies spe cializing in AI and cloud technologies. Furthermore, the development of a domestically produced AI chip is on the agenda. This chip is intended for use in data centers and is part of a broader plan to establish a national AI computing center capable of more than 1 Exaflop - a supercomputing threshold equivalent to at least one quintillion floating point operations per second. The government is also setting up an AI innovation fund to facilitate the transition to a private cloud ecosystem. An investment of 45 billion won is slated for next year, with additional funds expected from the private sector. Additionally, as part of its commitment to AI safety and ethical development, South Korea plans to open an AI safety research institute under the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. This move follows the global AI safety summit hosted in Seoul earlier this year, where a joint declaration on promoting safe, innovative, and inclusive AI technologies was adopted by leaders from major countries i ncluding South Korea, Britain, and the United States.