Konkuk University Selected for KRW 11 Billion Government AI Project to Develop LEGO-Like 'Modular AI'

[Financial News] Development of 'modular AI' technology, which allows users to detach and attach only the functions they need like smartphone components, is getting underway in earnest.
Konkuk University announced on the 17th that it had been selected, along with Jeju National University (JNU), for the AI Top-Tier Early-Career Researchers Support Program led by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP). The two universities will receive KRW 11 billion in government research and development funding over six years through 2031.
Until now, adding new technologies or knowledge to large-scale AI systems required retraining the entire massive model from scratch. This process consumes enormous amounts of computing resources and time, and has been identified as a major burden for industry.
To address this inefficiency, the technology being developed by the researchers divides AI's major functions into units resembling LEGO blocks. Functions such as knowledge, reasoning and security are separated into individual AI units, allowing researchers to train, replace or combine only the components they need.
Once commercialized, the technology could be immediately applied across various industries, including security and healthcare. If a new type of deepfake attack emerges, defenders could replace only the detection-function block rather than rebuilding the entire AI system.
In healthcare settings, hospitals could safely use separately extracted and combined disease-diagnosis function blocks trained by each institution without sending sensitive patient information outside the hospital.
Collaboration with industry is also underway. NC AI is providing its own AI model and training environment, while Mesacure is helping apply video-call security technology. AIVIS is supporting pathology image data and a hospital validation network.
The researchers plan to build an open modular platform that will allow domestic researchers and companies to register and assemble their own function blocks for use. Through this initiative, they aim to significantly reduce the costs of AI development, maintenance and repair while strengthening the self-reliance of Korea's AI industry ecosystem.
Jeju National University (JNU) is leading the project, with Konkuk University participating as a joint research institution. Five professors from Konkuk University's Department of Computer Engineering—Harksoo Kim, Jaehyung Seo, Sangwoo Hong, Byungkook Oh and Seowon Ji—are participating as researchers and will lead the development of core foundational technologies and their industrial validation.  

[email protected] Man-gi Kim Reporter