Bae Kyung-hoon, deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, said the government's sovereign artificial intelligence foundation model project will continue, dismissing a recent media report that the government was considering halting the program.
In a post on his social media account late on the 29th, Bae said, "Various forecasts and speculation have recently emerged around the sovereign AI foundation model, or 'dokpamo,' and frontier AI." He added, "To start with the conclusion, dokpamo continues. And South Korea must at the same time take on the challenge of frontier, or top-tier, AI."
He described the sovereign AI foundation model and the frontier AI model project as initiatives that move forward together, citing the need to respond to Chinese open-weight AI models spreading across industrial sites. "I do not think we should stop dokpamo just because we are taking on frontier AI. The third round of dokpamo now under way will be properly completed as planned," Bae said. "At the same time, I believe frontier AI must be pursued boldly at the national level. Based on technological capability and ambition rather than the size or name of a company, large companies, startups, universities and researchers must join forces so that world-class frontier AI can also be built in South Korea."
Bae also stressed that "the gap between countries that have frontier AI and those that do not could grow far wider than it is now," adding, "That is why South Korea must also take on the challenge of frontier AI."
He emphasized, however, that the way the sovereign AI model project is supported must change. "Now we need to think less about 'who to eliminate' and more about 'how to nurture more possibilities,'" he said. "Startups and small and medium-sized companies developing sovereign AI models and specialized AI should also be given sufficient computing resources and opportunities to grow."
He did not specify how the sovereign AI model project will be linked to frontier AI development after the third-stage evaluation. "Dokpamo continues. But it must evolve in a way that lets more companies take part, that is used more widely in the field, and that allows companies to grow larger," Bae said. "And on that foundation, we will also take on world-class frontier AI in the name of South Korea."
