Kim Yong-bum Says South Korea Has 'Ample Money but Lacks Imagination' for Massive AI Investment

Kim Yong-bum, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy, remarked regarding South Korea's massive artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments that the country has a "surplus of financial capacity, but a deficit of imagination."

During a meeting with foreign correspondents on Wednesday (July 22), when asked whether South Korea has sufficient funds (budgets) for AI sector investments, Kim responded, "We have plenty of money, but at times we lack the imagination on where and how to spend it."

This is interpreted as meaning that while the government has adequate budgets available for investment, deeper consideration is required on how to deploy those investments.

Kim has consistently emphasized the necessity of proactive investment utilizing surplus tax revenues, noting that South Korea—equipped with memory chips, stable power supply, and manufacturing infrastructure—can unleash tremendous potential in the era of the AI revolution.

Kim also expressed optimism that meaningful outcomes will be derived from meetings between big tech CEOs and President Lee Jae-myung during his 10-day, 7-night overseas trip starting yesterday, which includes visits to San Francisco, U.S., and three South American countries.

In San Francisco, President Lee will hold consecutive meetings with major tech CEOs, including Jensen Huang of Nvidia; Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic, famous for the AI models ChatGPT and Mythos respectively; and Hock Tan of Broadcom, a leader in custom AI semiconductor design.

At the subsequent "San Francisco AI Summit," these big tech leaders and heads of major South Korean conglomerates—such as Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung—are scheduled to sign various agreements together.

Kim noted, "Long-discussed contracts that have been under negotiation appear to be announced all at once, and many very large numbers, very meaningful figures, are likely to come out."

He also mentioned the 4,700 trillion won unveiled during the previous announcement of the three major mega-projects, explaining, "Everyone said the numbers were too large, but looking at the figures announced by companies this time, people will realize 'this is real' and understand the context behind those numbers."

Kim stated that the "San Francisco AI Declaration," to be announced by President Lee at the AI Summit, will incorporate visions for the stable supply of South Korean AI semiconductors, the second semiconductor cluster to be promoted in the Honam region, and AI testbeds.

Additionally, Kim stated that the fruits of AI growth should be utilized for youth, the future, regions, and education through a future response fund, while also preparing for new pressures such as real estate, foreign exchange rates, and prices.

Kim's press conference was held ahead of President Lee's overseas trip with outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, AP, the Financial Times, The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Nikkei Asia, and AFP.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.