South Korea plans $3.5 billion frontier AI model program from 2027
Seoul’s science ministry outlined a 4.7 trillion-won ($3.5 billion) equity-backed push to build a frontier AI model starting as early as March 2027, alongside a separate industrial-deployment track.
South Korea plans to launch a 4.7 trillion-won ($3.5 billion) programme to develop a frontier artificial-intelligence model from March 2027, the science ministry said, as Seoul seeks a stronger seat in the global race for cutting-edge AI. Reuters reported that the Ministry of Science and ICT will select a lead developer through competitive tender after parliament approves the 2027 budget in December, with a winner possibly chosen as early as February.
Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Je-myung told reporters the government is splitting its homegrown AI effort into two tracks rather than abandoning the existing Dokpamo foundation-model programme. One track will fund a new frontier-model competition open beyond current finalists, including startups; the other will support industrial deployment of Korean models. The current contest among teams led by LG AI Research, SK Telecom and Upstage will continue, with two finalists due after a third-stage review around mid-February.
The 2027 budget proposal earmarks large-scale equity investment for a top-tier domestic model, with private capital expected to co-invest. Reporting by The Korea Times said officials have discussed allocating roughly 3.9 trillion won toward about 10,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs and additional funds for training data. Ryu said support on the scale of 1,000 GPUs per team is not enough to catch frontier-class systems.
Officials framed the initiative as a national-security and sovereignty play: competing head-on with the largest U.S. labs may be unrealistic, but Korea aims to field a model competitive with leading Chinese open systems if public and private capital materializes. The programme remains contingent on National Assembly budget approval and could begin as early as March after the new competition opens.
Source: Reuters, The Korea Herald
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