SK Chairman Proposes Five AI Initiatives to President Lee

On June 20, President Lee Jae-myung attended the 'AI Global Cooperation Business Meeting' at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center, marking his first visit to an industrial site since taking office. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won entered the venue alongside President Lee, where he presented five key proposals related to artificial intelligence (AI). President Lee nodded in agreement, stating, 'I share the same thoughts.'

In his opening remarks, President Lee emphasized, 'The greatness of our people is reflected in the greatness of our entrepreneurs.' He acknowledged Chairman Chey during his speech, prompting Chey to bow in respect.

The Ulsan AI Data Center, a collaboration between SK Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS), is set to be established in the Ulsan Mipo National Industrial Complex. It will feature approximately 60,000 GPUs (graphics processing units), making it the largest AI data center currently under development in South Korea.

During the meeting, Chairman Chey outlined five proposals aimed at fostering growth in the AI market, including the expansion of the AI one-stop voucher program, national talent development for AI, the establishment of an AI startup fund, government-led AI market formation, and the designation of Ulsan as an AI special zone. He expressed confidence that the AI startup fund could nurture 20,000 AI startups within the next five years and stressed the importance of making AI education mandatory.

President Lee echoed Chey's sentiments, particularly regarding education, and requested that Kim Yong-beom, the head of the Presidential Policy Office, take note of the suggestions. He acknowledged the challenges of altering the education curriculum but insisted it should be considered, suggesting that AI could be included as a mandatory subject for elementary students. When Chey mentioned that the startup fund should be around 10 trillion won, President Lee responded, 'It's not impossible. If we want to create what hasn't been done before, the government must also bear a significant burden. I don't think it's an insurmountable task.'

In response to Chey's suggestion for government departments to become clients for AI applications, President Lee agreed on the importance of the government aiding in the formation of the AI market, stating that sharing the risk with companies in advanced industries might be more beneficial than merely providing financial support.

The meeting was attended by numerous business leaders, including Prasad Kalyanaraman, AWS's Infrastructure Head, Kakao CEO Jeong Shin-a, Samsung SDS President Lee Joon-hee, and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yoo-won.

Following the launch ceremony for the Ulsan AI Data Center, President Lee visited a nearby market, where he interacted with local citizens. According to spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung, one citizen expressed their frustrations regarding administrative inconveniences, shedding tears, while President Lee assured them he would look into their concerns. Another citizen thanked him for the rising stock prices, to which President Lee replied, 'Yes, the stock prices have indeed gone up.'