Candidate for Minister Baek Kyung-hoon: "Sovereign AI must be created by next year.. Will innovate the R&D system"

Candidate for Minister of Science and ICT, Baek Kyung-hoon, declared on the 14th, "To realize the leap to become one of the top three AI powerhouses, we will concentrate national capabilities on building the AI ecosystem and accelerate the national AI transformation." 
Candidate Baek stated at the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee confirmation hearing, "AI is a game-changer that can enhance the efficiency of our economy and society by integrating into all areas and contributing to overcoming challenges," he said. The hearing began in the afternoon amid clashes between ruling and opposition party members, with People Power Party lawmakers attending with placards reading 'Choi Min-hee dictatorship OUT! Lee Jae-myung should cooperate' attached to their laptops.
Candidate Baek said, "We will quickly establish AI infrastructure such as the National AI Computing Center and advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), and prepare various support measures to encourage private investment in AI infrastructure," adding, "To realize the 'AI Basic Society,' we will support securing AI foundation models and promote the acquisition and utilization of learning data." 
In response to a question from Lee Hae-min, a member of the Democratic Innovation Party, about 'Sovereign AI,' candidate Baek replied, "Korea's Sovereign AI must have its own competitiveness, and since AI technology changes very quickly, we must respond flexibly," adding, "We are mostly using NVIDIA GPUs, but we need to quickly figure out how to develop Korean neural processing units (NPUs) from the perspective of AI semiconductors." 
He continued, "Without Sovereign AI, we cannot have a weapon in the rapidly changing global hegemony era," emphasizing, "It is important to quickly create an environment where anyone in Korea can use Sovereign AI well, and it should be made by this year or next year."
Regarding the AI Basic Law, which will be implemented in January next year, he stated that some time is needed to defer the imposition of fines under the AI Basic Law from the perspective of promoting the AI industry. However, he mentioned that this is his personal opinion, not as a candidate, and said, "If appointed (as minister), I will announce my position immediately."
 Regarding research and development (R&D), candidate Baek said, "We will quickly restore and strengthen the innovation ecosystem where R&D investment circulates into growth, and create an environment where we can focus on research," adding, "We will innovate the government R&D investment system to stably support a sufficient scale of R&D," promising to realize an 'AI and science and technology talent powerhouse' as well.
Meanwhile, candidate Baek explained the suspicion that his military service was inadequate, saying, "There may be parts that can be misunderstood when looking at the whole, but I was faithful to my duties during the military service period." He also addressed the completion of the MBA at the University of Southern California and the graduate program at Stanford University during his specialized research personnel period, saying, "It was an online course, so I finished it in four months," and that it did not affect his service. Additionally, regarding the criticism that he did not resign from his position as director of the LG AI Research Institute even after being nominated as a minister candidate, he said, "I requested resignation from the company, and I was processed as retired as of June 30," adding, "I have also received the severance pay."


solidkjy@fnnews.com Koo Ja-yoon Reporter