Journalist

Lee Jee-won
  • MachinaRocks Lays Out KOSDAQ IPO Plan, Pitches On-Site AI Operating System
    MachinaRocks Lays Out KOSDAQ IPO Plan, Pitches On-Site AI Operating System MachinaRocks, which is set to list on the KOSDAQ on the 20th, outlined a growth strategy centered on what it calls “on-site AI” at an IPO news conference. The company said it aims to expand its market with an AI operating system designed to run in industrial settings such as manufacturing and defense. CEO Yoon Sung-ho said the company’s core product, the AI operating system “Runway,” will serve as a platform to integrate and manage how companies use foundation models in their own environments. “As the AI market changes rapidly, companies want to use foundation models in ways that fit their own settings,” Yoon said at the event held Tuesday at 63 Square in Seoul. “Runway will take on the role of a platform that can integrate and manage that.” Yoon said a key differentiator is that the operating system can run on closed networks as AI moves beyond computers and into real-world industrial sites. He also drew a line between MachinaRocks and global big tech firms such as Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI, emphasizing a focus on field operations. “Global big tech companies are also entering physical AI, but for now they are focused on cloud-based decision support or the research stage,” Yoon said. “MachinaRocks is focused on operating in real time at sites such as factories or battlefields on closed networks where connectivity is cut off.” He said the company’s competitiveness is backed by more than 6,000 references built while meeting high security requirements in manufacturing and defense. MachinaRocks also detailed its overseas strategy, naming Japan as its top priority. The company said it signed contracts with four “1 trillion won club” companies within a year of establishing its Japan unit. “Japan, with a similar manufacturing structure and a large market, is the region where we can deliver results the fastest,” Yoon said. He said the company will focus on Japan and Europe for the time being and raise the share of global sales to about 20% to 30% by 2030. He said North America will be pursued after strengthening fundamentals, while the Middle East will be explored through participation in national strategic projects. The company said proceeds from the IPO will be concentrated on upgrading Runway. It plans to develop a “Dark Factory OS” for autonomous manufacturing and a defense-focused “Defense OS” to strengthen competitiveness and speed global expansion. To companies hesitant to adopt AI, Yoon pointed to references and measurable results. “Customers in manufacturing and defense place the greatest importance on cases where real economic effects have been proven,” he said. “MachinaRocks is competitive in that we can present verified results in numbers, such as cost reductions or productivity gains.” MachinaRocks set an IPO price band of 12,500 won to 15,000 won and plans to take retail subscriptions May 11-12 before listing on the KOSDAQ on the 20th.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-06 15:40:18
  • Intellivix to Unveil Autonomous Patrol Robot, AI Control Platform at AI Expo Korea 2026
    Intellivix to Unveil Autonomous Patrol Robot, AI Control Platform at AI Expo Korea 2026 Safety AI deep-tech firm Intellivix said it will showcase “physical AI” technology designed to move beyond video analytics and carry out tasks in real-world settings, as it targets the global safety market. The company said Monday it will take part in AI Expo Korea 2026, scheduled for May 6-8 at COEX in Seoul. The expo is billed as Asia’s largest AI-focused exhibition, featuring the latest technologies and industry trends in areas including generative AI, robotics, AI semiconductors, security and smart cities. Organizers said companies and institutions from South Korea and abroad will present industry use cases and next-generation technologies. Intellivix said its main exhibits will be the autonomous patrol robot “ARGOS” and its AI agent-based integrated control platform, “Gen AMS.” ARGOS, a four-legged walking robot to be demonstrated live, operates on vision-language-action, or VLA, technology. The company said it can patrol complex industrial sites on its own, detect hazards and automatically generate a text report of its findings. Intellivix said the system goes beyond monitoring by allowing AI to perform part of on-site safety management work. Gen AMS includes an action-oriented safety AI agent called “VIXA,” which the company said analyzes site conditions in real time and can issue response instructions. Intellivix said VIXA is intended to spot early signs of incidents and support rapid response systems across sectors including public safety, construction, manufacturing, transportation and defense. Intellivix also said it will unveil an edge AI solution using a neural processing unit, or NPU, from South Korean AI chipmaker Mobilint, along with an AI wildfire monitoring system. The company said it aims to reduce reliance on external cloud services and strengthen data security under a “sovereign AI” strategy, accelerating its push into public-sector and defense markets. “Through this exhibition, we will show how safety AI technology can solve problems in real-world sites,” Intellivix CEO Choi Eun-su said. “We will lead the global safety AI market with practical solutions that combine robots and generative AI.” 2026-05-04 09:13:08
  • DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Reunites With Lee Sedol in Seoul, Says Korea Can Win in AI Era
    DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Reunites With Lee Sedol in Seoul, Says Korea Can Win in AI Era “Ten years ago, the match in Seoul marked the start of the modern AI era. The legacy of those ‘divine moves’ is now opening a golden age of science to solve humanity’s hardest problems.” Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, sat down again with Lee Sedol, a top-ranked professional Go player, at a special dialogue event at ‘Google for Korea 2026’ held April 29 at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul. Calling Seoul “a symbolic place where the modern AI era began,” Hassabis looked back to 2016, when AlphaGo faced Lee in what was billed as a match of the century. “It feels like yesterday, and it also feels like 100 years ago,” he said, describing a decade in which AI moved from a single breakthrough to broad impact across science and industry. ‘10 years after AlphaGo’…AI relationship shifts from rivalry to collaboration Under the theme “Back to Seoul: Where the future began,” the two men who once battled across a Go board met again as partners discussing how AI can help tackle major challenges. Hassabis pointed to AlphaFold, an AI system for predicting protein structures that he said led to the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He said AI has moved beyond a specialized domain like Go and is now entering a stage where it can help solve scientific problems such as drug development and battery innovation. “Ten years ago in Seoul, AlphaGo proved AI’s potential and laid the technical foundation for solving scientific challenges,” he said. “Today, AI is driving change in almost every area of science.” He added that the technology that began with AlphaGo is opening a path toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which he said could bring “a new golden age of discovery.” Lee described the 2016 match as “the starting point that redefined the meaning of my life.” He said he once took pride in the creativity of his play but realized, after seeing AlphaGo, that he had been “a frog in a well.” “Everything has changed to the point that it feels like there is nothing left for human Go,” he said. Lee also warned that in the AI era, humans could lose the initiative in thinking, and said society needs to consider AI as a partner for collaboration. After the talk, the two signed a Go board at the venue. If the board a decade ago symbolized a contest between humans and AI, the signatures underscored a shift toward cooperation. Series of meetings with business leaders…expanding AI cooperation with Korean companies Hassabis’ trip to South Korea has focused on expanding cooperation with major Korean companies. The day before, he met in succession with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo to discuss broader cooperation in semiconductors, humanoids and physical AI. On April 29, a breakfast event titled the “2026 Leaders AI Roundtable” was also held with Google DeepMind Vice President Karim Ayoub and representatives from Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, Kakao and CJ. Google shared ways to apply its Gemini AI model to Korean companies’ hardware and services. In opening remarks, Google Korea President Yoon Koo said the company is expanding cooperation with Samsung Electronics across the Android ecosystem and is developing next-generation XR devices, including “Galaxy XR,” together from an early stage. In the dialogue, Hassabis called South Korea “a country with both cutting-edge technological capabilities and strong potential.” “Korea has very strong semiconductor and robotics industries, and it has leading universities and research institutions, so it can become a true winner in the AI era,” he said. He also offered an outlook for the next decade, saying AI is moving beyond screens into the physical world. “Over the next 10 years, AI agents will assist with everything from administrative work to daily life, and humans will focus on more creative work,” he said, predicting “a new era of prosperity.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-29 15:27:38
  • LG CNS, SAP Partner on AI-Driven Supply Chain Planning and Inventory Integration
    LG CNS, SAP Partner on AI-Driven Supply Chain Planning and Inventory Integration LG CNS is partnering with SAP to pursue artificial intelligence-based supply chain innovation, aiming to cut inefficiencies such as excess inventory and delivery delays by integrating processes that have typically been run separately across production, sales and inventory. LG CNS said Tuesday it recently signed a memorandum of understanding with SAP to drive intelligent supply chain innovation based on SAP Integrated Business Planning, or SAP IBP, and to expand in global markets. The signing ceremony was attended by Cho Min-gwan, an executive director in charge of LG CNS’ SCM innovation business, and Kim Jun-young, a vice president at SAP Korea, among others. The agreement centers on integrating supply chain data using SAP’s SCM solution, SAP IBP. The platform brings together data across demand forecasting, production planning and inventory management to improve visibility and support decision-making. SAP is also applying its generative AI assistant, Joule, and AI agent functions across its broader “Business Suite,” including IBP. Users can ask questions in natural language to get guidance on needed functions, while AI analyzes large volumes of supply chain data to produce key insights and visual reports. It can also automatically run scenario simulations for issues such as delivery delays, with agents across purchasing, production and logistics working together to propose optimized supply chain plans. LG CNS said it will combine its own technology with IBP to deliver differentiated services, including stronger capabilities to analyze shifts in demand and supply data, identify drivers behind performance changes, and forecast future sales and inventory flows. It also plans to add customer-specific functions such as preventing data errors in advance, managing supply chain risks and monitoring supplier reputations. The companies also plan to accelerate their push overseas. LG CNS said it will expand its IBP business based on its SAP ERP implementation experience across industries, and jointly pursue supply chain innovation projects for foreign companies by leveraging its North American and Asian subsidiaries and SAP’s global network. LG CNS is currently implementing SAP IBP for LG Innotek and plans to expand the business to auto parts, high-tech, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. “Building on our SAP ERP implementation capabilities, we will secure competitiveness in the AI-based integrated supply chain management market,” an LG CNS official said. “We will lead supply chain innovation in the global market.” 2026-04-29 09:10:20
  • Anthropic’s ‘Mythos shock’ raises a core question: How to control agent AI
    Anthropic’s ‘Mythos shock’ raises a core question: How to control agent AI Anthropic has been at the center of what the global artificial intelligence industry has dubbed the “Mythos shock.” Mythos is an agent-style AI used in a U.S.-Iran war-game simulation and is described as outperforming “Claude Opus.” Its emergence has pushed the debate beyond a technology race to a basic question: How can AI be controlled? Mythos is being assessed as having greater autonomy and problem-solving ability than earlier systems. It has also demonstrated a leap in capability by designing and executing high-difficulty cyberattack scenarios on its own. That autonomy, however, is also the risk. Once given a goal, AI agents can decide and act without explicit human instructions, increasing the chance they will operate outside existing security systems or control boundaries. The industry is focusing on those structural traits. Yoon Seong-ho, CEO of AI startup MakinaRocks, said companies adopt AI not merely to carry out assigned tasks but to have it “judge and execute on its own once given a goal.” “Autonomy is the core of agent AI, and the bigger that autonomy gets, the more risk points increase along with it,” he said. Concerns about out-of-control behavior are already surfacing, Yoon said. “When you use agent-based services, cases are being reported where payments are made regardless of the user’s intent, or unexpected external communications occur,” he said. “If this happens at the individual level, the risk is far greater in corporate settings, where it could lead to decisions worth tens of billions of won or access to confidential information.” Developers, he added, have even fueled a “Mac mini” craze, using the compact high-performance computer to build “air-gapped” environments that fully cut off external networks. The idea is to use powerful AI while physically limiting connections to reduce the risk of data leaks or unauthorized actions. Experts say the next phase of AI adoption will hinge on securing “controllable autonomy.” Yoon said companies should provide a “playground” where AI can operate freely, but only within an environment designed to reflect corporate security systems and governance. “More important than model performance is how precisely you build a control structure that can handle AI safely,” he said. As the war-game results suggest, AI capability is already close at hand. The key question now is how safely that capability can be used within a governance framework, a factor expected to shape industrial competitiveness. 2026-04-28 21:01:37
  • AI War Game Sees Prolonged U.S.-Iran Stalemate as Biggest Risk for South Korea
    AI War Game Sees Prolonged U.S.-Iran Stalemate as Biggest Risk for South Korea “The most dangerous moment for South Korea is not all-out war, but when a neither-war-nor-peace stalemate hardens into a new normal after six months.” A war-game simulation run on April 28 using Anthropic’s AI agent model, Claude Opus, found the most worrying outcome in the U.S.-Iran end-of-war talks was not a full-scale conflict but a prolonged stalemate. The risk of immediate escalation eased after U.S. President Donald Trump declared an “indefinite ceasefire,” but the simulation warned that for energy-vulnerable countries such as South Korea, a drawn-out impasse could bring what it called a “quiet ruin.” Trump’s zigzags: Claude calls it “advanced psychological warfare” aimed at division The simulation was based on the situation in which Trump, on the morning of the 22nd in Korean time, abruptly announced an “indefinite extension” ahead of the ceasefire’s expiration. In the war game, the Trump agent (Agent A) described his approach as making the other side “not know where to run.” Claude interpreted Trump’s reversals not as whim but as a populist strategy designed to upset the balance between Iran’s hard-liners (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and moderates (the Foreign Ministry), while also managing U.S. gasoline prices ahead of midterm elections. In response, the IRGC agent (Agent B) labeled the U.S. extension “strategic deception” and answered with steps including laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and warning shots at U.S. naval vessels. The AI depiction showed moderates’ room for diplomacy narrowing quickly amid internal power struggles. Prolonged stalemate put at 59%, seen as worst case for South Korea Claude assigned a 22% probability to a full-scale war and 19% to a dramatic negotiated breakthrough. The highest probability — 59% — was a prolonged stalemate. It described that outcome as a “gray zone” in which no one clearly loses, but everyone absorbs slow damage. For South Korea, the simulation called it the worst scenario. If the stalemate lasts more than six months, it projected West Texas Intermediate crude would settle at $140 to $150 a barrel. Domestic gasoline prices were projected to rise to around 2,700 won per liter, and South Korea’s annual energy import bill to increase by as much as $42 billion. The cost shock to manufacturing was described as severe. Claude projected that in four strategic sectors — petrochemicals, refining, shipping and aviation — cumulative operating losses over six months could reach up to 12 trillion won. Automakers and semiconductor firms were also projected to see operating profit fall by more than 15% due to indirect effects such as higher logistics costs, while the 2026 GDP growth outlook was projected to slip from 1.7% to the low 1% range. In the AI’s framing, institutionalized uncertainty reduces Trump’s political burden and lets Iran’s military keep leverage, while energy-dependent countries such as South Korea face economic bleeding under what it called the “cost of alliance.” Claude warned again that South Korea’s most dangerous moment is when this neither-war-nor-peace condition becomes a “new normal.” Expert: “It’s impossible to predict” — prepare for every scenario The AI war game was launched because the real-world situation is hard to forecast. In a phone interview with the newspaper, In Nam-sik, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, compared the U.S.-Iran standoff to “watching a soccer broadcast.” The sides may be passing the ball around the center circle, he said, but no one can predict when a sudden play will produce a shot. On Trump’s sudden ceasefire declaration, In said the constant shifts and lack of consistency “could itself be a negotiating strategy,” but added, “I don’t know what the real intention is.” Iran, he said, is also sending mixed messages. “Normally, messages should be consistent and war aims clear, but right now both sides keep going back and forth,” he said, adding that he doubts anyone can explain the situation precisely. The current environment, he said, could swing quickly on a single decision by leaders — toward a breakthrough or toward disaster. Still, the article said one point is clear: as the AI warned, economic bleeding from an oil shock has already begun. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, warned that the crisis is “the biggest in history, more severe than the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks and the 2022 Ukraine war combined.” He said a closure of the Strait of Hormuz has halted 20% of global energy flows, and that restoring disrupted output of 13 million barrels a day would take more than two years. The exercise sought to fill what it described as a gap in expert forecasting by using AI to map a “worst path.” The 59% stalemate estimate is not a fixed future. But the article said experts’ caution and the AI’s warning converge on one point: for South Korea, institutionalized uncertainty — neither war nor peace — could be more damaging than a full-scale war. 2026-04-28 21:00:17
  • MachinaRocks CEO: Physical AI Is Moving Into Factories and Battlefields
    MachinaRocks CEO: Physical AI Is Moving Into Factories and Battlefields “From raw-material procurement to design, production, quality and supply, the future MachinaRocks envisions is ‘fully autonomous manufacturing’ powered by artificial intelligence,” CEO Yoon Sung-ho said. Speaking at the company’s headquarters in Seoul’s Gangnam district, Yoon described the goal as an expansion of “physical AI” — AI that operates directly in real-world environments — across industry. With physical AI drawing global attention, including from Nvidia and Tesla, Yoon said MachinaRocks is proving what is possible through deployments in the field. “People often think first of humanoids or self-driving cars, but it starts by making the countless machines already in factories and industrial sites intelligent,” he said. “From that perspective, manufacturing and defense are the areas that can become reality first.” Founded in 2017, MachinaRocks has grown by supplying AI solutions tailored to industrial settings that demand high performance, reliability and security, including automotive, semiconductors and defense. In AI-based design and optimization, it ranks second among South Korean companies in the number of patents held, the company said. It has recently begun demand forecasting for institutional investors as it moves forward with an initial public offering, drawing attention as part of this year’s wave of “AI IPOs.” ◆Physical AI expands to defense... “An ‘AI staff officer’ directs operations” Defense is another pillar of MachinaRocks’ push for autonomous manufacturing, Yoon said, because it also requires AI to function in physical environments. “Defense is not a question of whether we can do it well — it is an area we must do,” he said. He cited results in improving maintenance efficiency and said the work is expanding toward an “AI staff officer” role that helps with operational decisions on the battlefield. As low-cost weapons systems such as drones spread, Yoon said, performance increasingly depends less on hardware and more on how precisely systems are controlled and operated. In that structure, the AI onboard and how effectively it is used can determine differences in combat power, he said. To respond, he said the company plans to expand battlefield applications based on a tentative “Defense AI OS.” ◆Runway OS aims to help industrial AI cross the “valley of death” Even so, AI adoption in industrial settings often fails to cross the “valley of death” — the gap between technical validation and commercialization — because systems do not perform as expected in real-world conditions, Yoon said. “AI performance is doubling every seven months, but in complex and unpredictable environments like factories or combat zones, it is still not easy to apply,” he said. MachinaRocks has focused on implementing physical AI in practice, including by applying more than 6,000 AI models in industrial sites to build data, he said. At the center is its in-house AI operating system, Runway, designed to work across different equipment and environments — like iOS or Android — with industry-specific AI applications built on top. Yoon said the platform approach is changing the business model. Projects that once took more than a year can now be built in one to six months, he said. “We are shifting from a services-centered model to a platform structure that can generate recurring revenue,” he said, adding that profitability should improve as reusable applications increase. On security — a sensitive issue in manufacturing and defense — Yoon said there is no room for compromise. “In these fields, 60% to 70% accuracy is meaningless; precision and reliability close to 99% are required,” he said. “Situations where confidential data leaks outside or AI goes beyond its control range can never be allowed.” He said Runway is designed to operate in closed networks to meet such mission-critical requirements. ◆Global push built on “K-manufacturing references”... “Confident of break-even in 2027” MachinaRocks is also accelerating overseas expansion. Within a year of entering Japan, it signed four contracts with major manufacturers, and in Europe it is working with a subsidiary of Germany’s Kuka Robotics, Yoon said. He said references built with South Korean companies that lead in autos, batteries and semiconductors are a strong trust asset in global markets, and that overseas firms are moving quickly because the technology has already been proven. Yoon described Japan as a large manufacturing market with relatively low AI use, where demand could grow quickly. He cited Japanese government efforts to expand AI adoption and develop talent as factors accelerating digital transformation, and said MachinaRocks aims to rapidly build a customer base centered on major local manufacturers. Funds raised through the IPO will be used to advance technology and secure an early position in global markets, he said. A tentative “dark factory OS,” intended to let AI autonomously run an entire plant, is a core technology for realizing fully autonomous manufacturing, he said, with investment planned for research and development and for expanding global bases including North America and Japan. Yoon also set a profitability target. “If expansion based on the AI OS proceeds as planned, reaching break-even in 2027 is possible,” he said. “Given our current growth and market demand, it is a realistic goal.” “Physical AI is not a distant future — it has already begun,” Yoon said. “From factories to the battlefield, we will create a new industry standard through AI that operates in real environments.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 13:55:59
  • Genians Leads South Korea’s Public EDR Procurement Market for Seventh Straight Year
    Genians Leads South Korea’s Public EDR Procurement Market for Seventh Straight Year South Korean cybersecurity company Genians said it ranked No. 1 in the public procurement market for endpoint detection and response, or EDR, for the seventh consecutive year. The company said Monday that it held a 46% share in 2025 based on the Public Procurement Service’s Nara Marketplace data. Genians said it has expanded its foothold in the public sector by building on technical competitiveness from the early days of South Korea’s EDR market in 2019 through today’s AI-driven security environment. EDR is a security technology that analyzes activity on endpoints such as PCs and servers in real time to detect and respond to threats. Its importance has grown as sophisticated cyberattacks have intensified alongside the spread of generative AI. Genians said it was the first in South Korea to develop EDR and has helped public institutions improve security visibility and respond to advanced threats. The company said it obtained a security function verification certificate from the National Intelligence Service, meeting stringent public-sector requirements, and has contributed to protecting government administrative networks and key infrastructure. Genians said its EDR has been deployed on more than 750,000 agents across central government agencies, local governments, financial institutions and large manufacturers, and that it has secured more than 200 references at home and abroad. The company said it is strengthening a single-console integrated security platform strategy by combining EDR with next-generation antivirus, anti-ransomware and device control to build an integrated endpoint response system. It also highlighted linking a machine-learning engine with AI-based cyber threat intelligence to detect previously unknown malware. The company said its system can identify threats from the hacking attempt stage and trace and analyze activity after an incident. Lee Dong-beom, Genians’ CEO, said defenses must be rebuilt on the assumption that threats can be constant in an era when AI can autonomously design attack scenarios. He said the company will combine its EDR technology with AI-based automated response to provide an endpoint security platform that blocks sophisticated attacks in real time.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 08:48:20
  • Nexon, SOOP launch N-CONNECT preseason to link streamers, users and games
    Nexon, SOOP launch N-CONNECT preseason to link streamers, users and games SOOP is teaming up with Nexon to build a new ecosystem that connects streamers, users and games. SOOP said it will begin a preseason for “N-CONNECT,” a streamer-focused program, starting on the 27th. The rollout includes an account-linking service that connects the two companies’ activity data in real time. N-CONNECT is designed to tie together streamers’ content activity, user participation and in-game experiences. Centered on Nexon titles, it aims to expand viewing and participation so users and streamers can interact more naturally. Streamers who join will operate as “N-Connectors,” broadcasting Nexon games and engaging with viewers. Participants can receive content support funds, drops and special goods, with rewards structured around three pillars — activity, growth and impact — to encourage sustained participation. Any streamer who broadcasts on SOOP can take part. Streamers who log at least 10 hours in Nexon game categories will receive N-CONNECT special goods. SOOP and Nexon will also run promotional support to help general streamers grow. Benefits are also planned for users. Those who link their Nexon game accounts with SOOP accounts can receive rewards such as drops-event items and Nexon Cash. The companies said they will gradually expand in-game benefits and other participation events during the preseason. The N-CONNECT preseason will run for about five months, through September. SOOP and Nexon said they plan to refine the program based on participation data and feedback from users and streamers, then expand it into an official season. A SOOP official said the companies plan to keep strengthening a participation-based ecosystem that combines game content and live streaming, starting with N-CONNECT.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 16:33:14
  • Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon calls AI a social infrastructure at SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026
    Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon calls AI a social infrastructure at SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, speaking at the global tech conference SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 in Tokyo, said artificial intelligence is evolving into “social infrastructure” and outlined the company’s vision for future cities. Naver said Monday that Choi joined Naver Labs CEO Seok Sang-ok and Naver Cloud Director Kim Ju-hee in a main-session discussion titled “From AI to Society: Designing AI as Social Infrastructure.” The speakers said AI is moving beyond a standalone technology to become essential infrastructure that supports daily life, and they described what they see as Naver’s role as a platform company. Choi said Naver operates large-scale services such as search and shopping while also running its own AI models and cloud infrastructure, and that those capabilities come with social responsibility. She said Naver will strengthen services and contribute to social development through “sovereign AI” that deeply understands users in each country and respects local cultures and value systems. Naver also highlighted use cases for its AI-based welfare check service, CareCall, and its collaboration platform, Line Works. CareCall, built on HyperCLOVA X, is being used in places including Izumo, Japan, to check on older residents and as part of disaster-response infrastructure, the company said. Line Works is supporting digital transformation for small business owners and frontline workers through features including AI-powered optical character recognition, it said. Kim said Line Works is lowering barriers for frontline workers through its “Roger” function, which replaces walkie-talkies, and document digitization technology. She said such connectivity is central to intelligent infrastructure that improves efficiency across society. Naver Labs presented its approach to building future cities based on digital twin and robotics technologies. Seok cited examples in Saudi Arabia and in Nagaishi, Japan, saying digital twins are taking hold as next-generation urban infrastructure. He also said robot-friendly technologies validated at Naver’s second headquarters, “1784,” are being expanded into real urban environments through global partners including NTT East and Saudi Arabia’s NHC. Choi reiterated that AI has become social infrastructure and said Naver aims to balance technological scalability with social responsibility in ways that benefit users, small business owners and countries. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is a global technology conference hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, bringing together companies and institutions to discuss sustainable cities and future technologies. The event runs from April 27 to 29 at Tokyo Big Sight, and organizers expect about 60,000 visitors. 2026-04-27 14:03:16