SEOUL, October 03 (AJP) - South Korea's prime minister pledged Saturday to build what the government calls an "AI Basic Society," presenting the country's rapid adoption of artificial intelligence as a modern way to honor the ideal on which the nation was founded.
The government has put money behind that goal. The Ministry of Science and ICT has proposed spending 9.4 trillion won ($6.96 billion) on AI next year, up 84.3 percent from 2026, as part of a record 29.6 trillion won budget request. That AI sum accounts for 57 percent of all government AI spending planned for 2027, and the plan still needs approval from the National Assembly.
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook spoke at a ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, marking National Foundation Day. The holiday, known in Korean as Gaecheonjeol, celebrates the legendary founding of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, by Dangun in 2333 B.C.
"The world now stands in the middle of the fastest and broadest change in history," Han said. She promised that the government would build the AI Basic Society step by step, so that this change "becomes a force that leaves no one out and benefits everyone."
Han tied that promise to Hongik Ingan, a phrase from the Dangun founding story that means "broadly benefit humankind." The ideal is written into South Korea's basic education law as the purpose of schooling. She paired it with jaese ihwa, a related phrase about governing the world through reason.
South Korea should use "the power of a high culture" to widen empathy and solidarity, Han said, and take the lead in sharing "our experience, technology and cultural capabilities" as humanity faces common challenges. That, she said, is how the spirit "that has carried on in our history and culture for a long time" is put into practice today.
AI has been central to Han's agenda since she took office July 1. A former chief executive of Naver, South Korea's largest internet portal, she was nominated in June by President Lee Jae Myung, whose office said her business and ministerial experience made her the right person to complete the country's AI transition. At her inauguration the next day, she pledged to extend a work-use AI system, then being piloted in four ministries, to every ministry by year-end.
Han also said the government would focus more on improving livelihoods, naming housing stability, jobs and financing for low-income households, "so that people can feel the results in their lives."
AJP Takeaways
- Prime Minister Han Seong-sook pledged on National Foundation Day to build an AI Basic Society that leaves no one out, tying the goal to Hongik Ingan, the founding ideal of broadly benefiting humankind.
- The Ministry of Science and ICT has proposed spending 9.4 trillion won ($6.96 billion) on AI in 2027, up 84.3 percent from this year and 57 percent of all planned government AI spending, pending National Assembly approval. The figures come from the ministry's budget proposal, not from Han's speech.
- Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, a former Naver chief executive who took office July 1, pledged at her inauguration to extend a work-use AI system then piloted in four ministries to every ministry by year-end.
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