South Korea Restructures Frontier AI Project

The South Korean government plans to develop a “Frontier AI” model separately from its independent AI foundation model program. Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon explained the change on the 23rd during a parliamentary audit in Seoul. The government had considered giving large-scale computing resources to the foundation-model program’s final selections, but said it switched to a separate open call and investment structure amid concerns that support could concentrate on one company.

Bae said officials initially considered assigning frontier-level AI model development to the two companies that would be selected in the program’s third evaluation. The existing program provided about 1,000 GPUs, while the Frontier AI project was being considered as a way to provide more than 10,000. Concerns arose that this support could favor a particular company, so the government changed the structure after consulting the finance authorities.

The government has not decided whether to establish a special-purpose corporation (a company created for a specific project) for joint investment by public and private entities. Bae said officials are discussing whether to use that structure or another form of investment and are reviewing the project’s operating details. Park Jeong-ha, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, called for transparent disclosure from the planning stage, given the scale of public and private funding. Concerns were also raised that the investment structure could give a company preferential treatment or impose excessive investment burdens.

Park said the Ministry of Science and ICT had not provided enough planning materials prepared with the finance authorities and again requested disclosure, saying the lack of detail about the project had fueled suspicion. Bae replied that the need to secure Frontier AI capabilities arose after the “Mythos” incident in April, and the project was prepared in line with a May budget request. He said the government submitted official materials prepared in consultation with the finance authorities, but the budget proposal could only be viewed because those authorities opposed its release.

Bae said the finance authorities cited the absence of prior cases in which such a budget proposal had been submitted to the National Assembly as their reason for opposing disclosure. He said the project was explained at a fiscal strategy meeting attended by the president and at the ministry’s briefing, but that he had not received a direct instruction from the president. Bae said he would consider the best way to make the project succeed and consult fully with the National Assembly.

The South Korean government plans to develop a “Frontier AI” model separately from its independent AI foundation model program. Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon explained the change on the 23rd during a parliamentary audit in Seoul. The government had considered giving large-scale computing resources to the foundation-model program’s final selections, but said it switched to a separate open call and investment structure amid concerns that support could concentrate on one company.

Bae said officials initially considered assigning frontier-level AI model development to the two companies that would be selected in the program’s third evaluation. The existing program provided about 1,000 GPUs, while the Frontier AI project was being considered as a way to provide more than 10,000. Concerns arose that this support could favor a particular company, so the government changed the structure after consulting the finance authorities.

The government has not decided whether to establish a special-purpose corporation (a company created for a specific project) for joint investment by public and private entities. Bae said officials are discussing whether to use that structure or another form of investment and are reviewing the project’s operating details. Park Jeong-ha, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, called for transparent disclosure from the planning stage, given the scale of public and private funding. Concerns were also raised that the investment structure could give a company preferential treatment or impose excessive investment burdens.

Park said the Ministry of Science and ICT had not provided enough planning materials prepared with the finance authorities and again requested disclosure, saying the lack of detail about the project had fueled suspicion. Bae replied that the need to secure Frontier AI capabilities arose after the “Mythos” incident in April, and the project was prepared in line with a May budget request. He said the government submitted official materials prepared in consultation with the finance authorities, but the budget proposal could only be viewed because those authorities opposed its release.

Bae said the finance authorities cited the absence of prior cases in which such a budget proposal had been submitted to the National Assembly as their reason for opposing disclosure. He said the project was explained at a fiscal strategy meeting attended by the president and at the ministry’s briefing, but that he had not received a direct instruction from the president. Bae said he would consider the best way to make the project succeed and consult fully with the National Assembly.