Cable TV champions ‘local AI sovereignty,’ takes the lead in building a society where media is a basic right

[Financial News] Cable TV, which has safeguarded local residents’ right to know and access to media for about 30 years, is moving to secure ‘local AI sovereignty’ in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). It plans to spotlight how local small and medium-sized businesses and traditional markets are using AI through regional channels nationwide, while also promoting AI education for older adults and services closely connected to everyday life. In a letter to President Lee Jae-myung, it also expressed its resolve to take the lead in narrowing the digital divide between regions and building a ‘society where media is a basic right.’
The Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association held a press conference at the Seoul Garden Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 8th, under the theme ‘Media as a Basic Right: Cable Will Connect Us,’ and released an open letter to the president outlining these plans. 
The association put forward ‘local AI sovereignty’ as a new agenda to support the AI transition in local communities. To that end, regional channels operated by comprehensive cable television operators (SOs) nationwide plan to jointly produce and air programs focused on AI. The first program, titled ‘Local AI Sovereignty: Is Our Region Ready?’, will highlight how local small and medium-sized businesses and traditional markets are using AI, how regional universities are developing AI talent, and changes in rural communities and regional industries.
The association also plans to provide AI education for local residents. It plans to launch ‘AI Classroom in Our Neighborhood,’ with classes delivered directly to local welfare centers, senior colleges and community centers. 
To ensure access to media for older adults and digitally underserved groups, the association also proposed giving its existing 8-level vestigial sideband (8VSB) service the shared name ‘TV for Everyone.’ 8VSB allows viewers to watch broadcasts at relatively low cost without a separate digital set-top box.
The cable TV industry is also focused on how it can use its existing base of broadcasting subscribers to bring AI services into everyday life. Its plan is to offer services closely connected to daily life, allowing older adults to use AI without having to navigate complicated smartphone functions. Kim Hyeok, vice president of SK Broadband, explained, “We can give existing cable TV subscribers the opportunity to use AI easily by connecting auxiliary devices such as sensors and speakers.” He added, “AI’s value lies in making services—from medication guidance and checks on whether older adults are alive to calling for public transportation and ordering food delivery—easier to use than complex smartphone apps.”

The association stressed that this vision is also in line with the government’s ‘Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Policy’ for region-led growth. In its open letter, the association said, “A true regional era can take shape only when people live in regions, culture is created there, and residents’ voices are connected to one another,” adding, “Regions need media that tells their stories.”
Hwang Hee-man, chairman of the Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association, also stressed the public role of local media. “Cable TV has been providing a variety of content and fulfilling its role in making media a basic right for 30 years,” Hwang said. “We deliver news from our neighborhoods that national news may not cover, and provide residents with information they need to know at crucial moments, such as during disasters and elections.”
He added, “Many of the regulations governing cable TV are stuck in the past, so policy support and institutional reforms are needed to ensure it can continue fulfilling its role. We will protect local residents’ right to know and their universal access to media, and connect regions and people so that no one is left behind in the AI era.”
[email protected] Choi Hye-rim Reporter