South Korea Joins the AI Arms Race with National Supercomputing Push
February 18th 2025
A National AI Powerhouse in the Making
South Korea has officially entered the global AI infrastructure race, announcing plans to secure 10,000 high-performance GPUs in 2024 and accelerate the launch of its National AI Computing Center by 2027. The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed the move as part of the country's broader AI strategy aimed at competing with projects like the US Stargate initiative and France’s AI data centers.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok emphasized that AI supremacy is no longer just a corporate battleground, it has transformed into a nationwide competition, where government-backed computing ecosystems will determine the winners.
South Korea’s ambitious initiative mirrors similar national AI projects worldwide, such as:
The US Stargate Project, which aims to build a massive AI research infrastructure.
France’s AI data centers, which will centralize Europe’s AI development efforts.
By uniting government, private sector, and academia, South Korea hopes to position itself among the top three AI powerhouses, much like it once led the global broadband revolution.
Key AI Investments and Supercomputing Goals
The South Korean government is committing 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in 2024 alone, increasing its AI technology budget by 25% year-on-year.
The flagship National AI Computing Center will feature:
✅ 1 exaflop computing capacity (100 quintillion operations per second).
✅ Potential private sector expansion to 2 exaflops.
✅ 400 billion won ($277M) initial investment, with an anticipated total of 2 trillion won.
✅ A 51% public - 49% private ownership structure.
Additionally, an 8,000-GPU supercomputer will be established, marking a critical leap in AI research, development, and commercialization.
The Global AI Infrastructure Race: Who’s Leading?
South Korea’s AI supercomputing efforts reflect the growing international trend of governments investing in AI infrastructure:
The U.S. has Stargate, powered by America’s dominance in AI chip manufacturing through Nvidia.
China is pushing for AI independence with its own chip and LLM (Large Language Model) projects.
France is building a European AI data hub, hoping to reduce dependency on U.S. tech giants.
With AI development increasingly tied to national security and economic dominance, supercomputing infrastructure is now a strategic asset, determining who will control the AI-driven future.
Will South Korea Become a Global AI Leader?
South Korea has historically leveraged government-private collaboration to dominate semiconductors, broadband, and electronics. Can it replicate this success in AI?
✅ Strengths:
Established semiconductor giants (Samsung, SK Hynix) to support AI chip development.
Existing tech powerhouse status with a highly skilled workforce.
Aggressive government funding to push innovation.
⚠️ Challenges:
Heavily reliant on U.S. AI chips (Nvidia GPUs) due to China-U.S. tech restrictions.
AI regulation debates - balancing ethics, privacy, and AI acceleration.
Private sector concerns about government controlling too much of the AI ecosystem.
With the AI computing war heating up, South Korea's success will depend on how well it executes its national AI vision while navigating global AI politics.
Source: Korea Herald
