The Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea has approved a list of three consortia that will operate the national AI for All initiative. This is an ambitious step aimed at the total digitalization of public services and the daily lives of citizens. By the end of this year, the authorities plan to provide every resident of the country with free and unlimited access to advanced AI services, removing all restrictions on the number of requests.
The key players in the project will be technology giants SK Telecom, Kakao, and KT. Official agreements will be signed with them in September, after which the beta testing phase of the platforms will begin. To ensure computing power, the government will transfer a total of 512 modern Nvidia B200 accelerators to the operators. Notably, starting in 2027, the state budget will cover all operational costs of providing these services to the public, although the final cost of the program remains undisclosed.
Practical Benefits: From Chatbots to AI Agents
The program is not limited to simple conversational models. The deployment of AI agents is the true goal of the initiative. These autonomous systems will be able to independently analyze a user's profile, find eligible government benefits, assist with document processing, and perform routine tasks.
Each operator will take its own approach. SK Telecom will focus on multichannel access: availability through a mobile app, browser, phone calls, and even SMS. The agent will be able to find organization contacts on its own and make calls on behalf of the user, as well as integrate with medical and financial services. Kakao will embed AI directly into its messenger, offering solutions for tax reporting and elderly care. KT, in turn, will connect neural networks to the Daum portal and partner platforms like Musinsa and Zigbang, covering education and real estate sectors.
Technological Sovereignty: Betting on Local Models
The main message of the program is to reduce critical dependence on foreign AI platforms. The conditions are strict: at least 50% of the computing load of each service must be handled by the operator's own base model, and another 30% by developments from other Korean companies. Thus, at least 80% of the work will be performed by local neural networks. Foreign models may only be integrated selectively, and they will not be eligible for government subsidies.
This decision looks particularly timely against the backdrop of statistics: about two-thirds of the country's residents are already familiar with AI, and around 23 million people actively use generative services. ChatGPT's monthly audience in Korea reaches 23.45 million users, Gemini—8.45 million, and Claude—2.41 million. The authorities rightly fear that free tiers of foreign platforms could be cut at any moment due to rising subscription costs or changes in business strategies. Developing domestic infrastructure, including the recent announcement of expanding the AI Factory at the GAK Sejong data center from 55 MW to 200 MW by 2028, is not just modernization but a fundamental defense of digital sovereignty.
My view: South Korea is once again demonstrating how the state can systematically shape the technological landscape. The "one AI agent for every citizen" initiative after 2027 is not a futuristic slogan but a clear plan that could become a benchmark for other developed economies seeking a balance between innovation and national security.