The Blueprint outlines policy proposals for how South Korea can maximize AI’s benefits and drive economic growth.
South Korea is poised to become one of the world’s next AI powerhouses. With world-class semiconductor manufacturing, dense digital infrastructure, highly educated talent, and a government that has made AI a national priority, the country has the ingredients to lead. Our new Economic Blueprint for Korea outlines how South Korea can translate those strengths into scaled, trusted AI adoption across its economy—while ensuring the benefits are broadly shared.
This blueprint builds on recent milestones, including OpenAI’s first country-level partnership in APAC announced on October 1. Through the Stargate initiative, Samsung and SK plan to expand advanced memory supply crucial to frontier AI, while OpenAI, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and the partners are exploring next-generation AI data centers in Korea. Alongside the launch of the Korea office and a strategic collaboration with Seoul National University, these steps reflect Korea’s momentum and the potential for positive spillovers across industry, infrastructure, and talent.
- A strong foundation: Korea ranks among the global leaders in AI readiness, with deep strengths in chips, devices, and networks, and a vibrant private sector eager to adopt AI.
- A clear policy focus: The government has committed significant public–private funds to strengthen competitiveness.
- A window of opportunity: As frontier AI rapidly advances, global cooperation will shape the next decade of productivity and innovation.
The blueprint recommends a dual-track approach:
- Build sovereign AI capabilities in foundation models, infrastructure, data governance, and GPU supply, so Korea can chart its own course.
- Pursue strategic collaborations with frontier AI developers to accelerate adoption and ensure businesses gain access to state-of-the-art technologies. —A notable example of the strategic collaborations between OpenAI and Samsung, SK, and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).
These tracks are complementary: frontier adoption can strengthen operational maturity, data stewardship, and cost efficiency—capabilities that, in turn, reinforce Korea’s sovereign AI ecosystem.
Priority areas for impact
- Exports & industrial competitiveness: Korea’s export engine—semiconductors, autos, shipbuilding—can gain from AI-enabled design, smart factories, and autonomous systems. Frontier-grade tools help manufacturers reduce cycle times, improve yield, and optimize supply chains.
- Healthcare & social welfare: With an aging population and high care utilization, AI can support clinicians, reduce errors, streamline documentation, and extend access—while preserving safety through sandboxes, monitoring, and human oversight.
- Education & talent: AI tutors and educator copilots can personalize learning, ease administrative burdens, and expand access beyond major metros, helping cultivate an “AI-native” student experience and a next-generation talent pipeline.
- SMEs & regional vitality: Lightweight, affordable AI assistants for paperwork, exports, and compliance can free up time for value-creating work and help smaller firms participate in the AI economy—supporting balanced growth beyond Seoul.
Enablers: infrastructure, operations, data, and law
- Infrastructure at scale: Partnerships under Stargate and ongoing work with MSIT aim to expand compute capacity in Korea. Frontier-level data center practices—on siting, power, efficiency, and software operations—can anchor a durable local ecosystem.
- Operational readiness: Disciplined testing, staged rollouts, real-time monitoring, and clear incident response are essential for reliable AI deployment in enterprise and public services. Frontier collaboration can accelerate the diffusion of these practices.
- Data governance & sandboxes: Interoperable data platforms, clear rules for consent and pseudonymization, and supervised regulatory sandboxes enable responsible experimentation—and faster translation from pilots to practice.
- Modernized policy environment: Stable, internationally aligned guidelines reduce uncertainty and spur investment. Rationalizing barriers and opening non-sensitive public data can speed adoption where benefits are clear and risks are managed.
If South Korea pairs sovereign capability-building with targeted frontier partnerships, it can:
- Scale AI across exports, healthcare, education, and SMEs—boosting productivity and inclusion.
- Embed global best practices in infrastructure and operations—lowering cost and risk.
- Develop an exportable “AI nation package” that bundles technology, financing, and policy know-how—similar to Korea’s track record in complex projects like nuclear power and smart cities.
Korea’s ambition to be a top-three AI nation is credible. The decisive factor now is speed to safe deployment—turning promise into practice across sectors and regions.
“As we enter a new era of intelligence, Korea has a historic opportunity to lead, powered by its strengths in semiconductors, digital infrastructure, talent, and strong government support,” said Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer. “This approach can position Korea not just as an adopter, but as a global standard-setter and trusted provider of scalable AI systems.”
