President Yoon: South Korea Joins Elite Group of AI Leaders

President Yoon Suk Yeol stated on October 21 that South Korea has entered the elite group of leading artificial intelligence (AI) nations, as evaluated by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He emphasized that the next crucial step is to translate this competitive edge into tangible results.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) titled 'South Korea, a Leading AI Nation,' President Yoon announced, "Our country has been included in the top tier of AI leading nations alongside the United States and China."

He explained BCG's assessment of South Korea as a leading AI nation, citing two main reasons: first, the country's leadership in developing proprietary AI models, and second, significant public investment in nurturing the AI ecosystem and expanding computing infrastructure.

President Yoon reiterated the commitment of both the government and businesses to drive the advancement of AI technology and industry, ensuring that the outcomes benefit the daily lives of citizens and contribute to economic growth.

According to BCG's report 'AI Maturity Matrix 2026,' released on October 20, South Korea has made its debut in the highest category of 'AI Leading Nations.' Since the first survey in 2024, South Korea and Japan are the new entrants to this group, which previously included the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Canada.

BCG analyzed the AI exposure and readiness of over 75 countries and economies using 33 indicators. The readiness assessment encompasses six areas: national AI goals, talent, policies and regulations, investment, research and innovation, and ecosystem.

The report highlighted South Korea's notable achievements in developing proprietary AI models and executing large-scale public investments in building the AI ecosystem and computing infrastructure. South Korea ranked among the top five globally in the notable AI model development category in Stanford University's '2026 AI Index.'

BCG noted that as most countries have established AI strategies, the key factor in determining future AI competitiveness will not be the existence of a strategy but the scale and speed of its execution.