[Editorial] Advice from Masayoshi Son, Who Identified 'Energy' as Korea's Weakness, Should Be Heeded

The central themes of the 70-minute meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group Corp., held on the 5th, were Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) and energy. ASI refers to artificial intelligence (AI) that surpasses human intelligence in every aspect. According to Son, ASI will possess cognitive abilities not just ten or twenty times greater than humans, but up to ten thousand times more advanced. He suggested that, in such a future, humanity could become like goldfish, with AI assuming the dominant role. Rather than fearing highly intelligent ASI, Son emphasized that it is the responsibility of nations to find ways to harness it for human happiness—a perspective that is certainly worth considering. Countries around the world are already making every effort in this race, and Korea is lagging behind. Therefore, it is imperative for both the government and businesses to mobilize all resources to build the necessary infrastructure.
It is crucial to note Son's point that Korea's critical weakness in the ASI era is energy. To realize the ASI era, energy, semiconductors, data, and education are all essential, but Korea's energy strategy is the most vulnerable. While domestic and international companies have announced plans to build data centers in Korea, the scale remains too small. Son advised that securing sufficient energy must come first in order to expand these facilities—a point that is entirely valid.
To ensure the stable operation of ASI's exponentially increasing computational power, astronomical amounts of electricity will be required. This is why AI is often called a 'power-hungry monster.' The Stargate Project, envisioned by SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, and Microsoft, will require up to 7 gigawatts (GW) of electricity—enough to power an entire city.
Korea has secured a promise from Nvidia Corporation for the supply of 260,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), but without expanded power infrastructure, this is meaningless. Operating 260,000 GPUs alone would require 1 GW of electricity, equivalent to the capacity of a large nuclear power plant (NPP). Looking ahead to the ASI era, more than one million GPUs will be needed. The fluctuating output of solar power and wind energy cannot provide the necessary capacity. The demand for electricity is not limited to this area alone; massive amounts of power are also consumed by advanced facilities such as new Semiconductor Clusters. Even building one or two additional NPPs will not be enough.
NPPs are unmatched when it comes to large-scale power supply, yet the government continues to hesitate. Son's observation that energy is Korea's weakness is directly related to this issue. The government's policy to make a final decision on two new NPPs confirmed in the 11th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand only after further public discussion is, frankly, irresponsible. During his meeting with Son, President Lee stated, 'We will ensure that AI capabilities become a basic infrastructure available to all citizens, just like water and sewage.' While he spoke of building an 'AI-based society,' securing the energy to support this vision must come first. Accelerating the construction of new NPPs as planned is essential. The stalled transmission line projects, halted by local government opposition, must also be unblocked. Without sufficient electricity, becoming a global AI powerhouse will remain a distant dream.