The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Yoo Sang-im, hereinafter “MSIT”) announced that the National Assembly has approved a supplementary budget of KRW 1.9067 trillion for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, an increase of KRW 61.8 billion from the government’s original proposal. With this budget, MSIT will promptly push forward key initiatives to enhance national AI competitiveness and establish Korea as one of the world’s top three AI leaders.

 

Amid intensifying global competition for AI leadership, major economies—including the United States, China, and the European Union—are investing hundreds of trillions of KRW to gain an edge in the field. In response, Korea has acted with urgency, enacting a supplementary AI budget this year to avoid falling behind. The government recognizes that even a one-year delay could set the nation back by three years in global competitiveness. Accordingly, the supplementary budget will concentrate on three key areas: expanding AI computing infrastructure, advancing next-generation AI models, and cultivating world-class talent.

 

*(United States) Announced a KRW 730 trillion investment in AI data centers (Jan. 2025)

(China) Developed high-efficiency AI model “DeepSeek”

(EU) Announced KRW 300 trillion investment, including the “AI Giga Factory Project” (Feb. 2025)

(France) Announced KRW 163 trillion investment in AI data centers (Feb. 2025)

 

 

he government will invest KRW 1.6341 trillion to secure 10,000 advanced GPUs by the end of this year, establishing clustered GPU infrastructure to expand national AI computing capacity. An additional 3,000 GPUs will be leased from the private sector to enhance accessibility and utilization. Through these efforts, Korea aims to quickly address the urgent national shortage of AI computing resources.

 

 

To expedite the early commercialization of domestically developed AI semiconductors, the government will significantly increase its demonstration budget—from KRW 41.7 billion in 2024 to KRW 87.1 billion in 2025. This funding will support promising Korean companies in bringing Neural Processing Units (NPUs) to market within the critical "golden time." MSIT will also broaden its support to include emerging markets such as on-device AI and international pilot programs.

 

 

MSIT will launch a major initiative, tentatively titled the “World Best LLM Project,” supported by a budget of KRW 213.6 billion. Five elite domestic teams will be selected and given focused support over a period of up to three years, including access to GPUs, high-quality data, and top-tier personnel.

 

The project will prioritize leasing private-sector GPUs to facilitate the development of foundation models, while also supporting the costs of data acquisition, processing, and utilization. To attract world-class AI researchers from abroad, MSIT will operate the AI Pathfinder Project, providing up to KRW 2 billion in annual support. Researchers recruited through the program will be prioritized for placement in the World Best LLM (WBL) Project teams.

 

*[GPUs] KRW 157.6 billion allocated for leasing private-sector GPUs (out of KRW 172.3 billion total)

[Operations] KRW 1 billion

[Data] KRW 50 billion to support the acquisition, processing, and utilization of data for the World Best LLM (WBL) Project

[Talent] KRW 5 billion to support the recruitment of top-tier global AI researchers

 

 

MSIT will allocate approximately KRW 15 billion to host the Global AI Challenge, an international competition designed to identify and nurture innovative AI talent. In addition, the Ministry will provide world-class support to 400 postdoctoral researchers, both domestic and international, engaged in convergence research fields. This support will emphasize group-based collaboration and interdisciplinary innovation across AI and science and technology.

 

 

The government will increase its budgetary contribution, bringing the AI Innovation Fund to a total of KRW 100 billion. An additional KRW 10 billion will be allocated to promote the commercialization of AI technologies developed by outstanding lab-based companies located in national R&D Special Zones.

 

Furthermore, KRW 9.2 billion will be newly invested in the development and deployment of barrier-free kiosks, aimed at improving digital accessibility for underserved and digitally vulnerable populations.

 

Minister Yoo Sang-im stated, “This budget comes at a pivotal moment, as nations around the world race to secure leadership in AI. With a heightened sense of urgency, MSIT will make an all-out effort to seize this golden opportunity by swiftly executing key initiatives in advanced technologies, talent development, and AI adoption. We remain firmly committed to establishing Korea as one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses.”

 

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.