In the June 3rd presidential election, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party emphasized support for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in their campaign pledges. While both candidates shared the perception that AI is a future growth driver for Korea, their approaches differed.
Lee Jae-myung proposed core pledges for government-led AI development, including securing 50,000 high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) and promoting the 'Everyone's AI' project, while Kim Moon-soo focused on supporting corporate activities centered around human resource development, such as training 200,000 AI young talents and improving the treatment of science and technology personnel.
Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party did not include AI in his pledge book. This is interpreted as a reflection of his political philosophy that advocates for a smaller government. According to Lee Jun-seok, the development of technologies like AI is the role of corporations, and reforming regulations that limit technological development is the responsibility of the new government.
The political sphere, as well as the industrial and scientific communities, agrees that AI will be a core element of future industries. However, there are differing opinions on whether to prioritize 'public interest,' which secures citizens' rights, or to promote 'exclusive innovation' that seeks advanced technological capabilities.
The pledges on AI from Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo lack precise funding requirements. There are calls to identify how much financial resources the government has available to invest in AI development and to propose how much funding will be allocated, in order to establish a process for achieving social consensus.
◇ Lee Jae-myung sets clear goals, pledges to invest in AI budget proportionate to advanced countries
According to the political sphere on the 16th, the three candidates announced ten major pledges simultaneously with the start of the official election campaign period. Lee Jae-myung touted 'becoming a leading economic powerhouse in the world' as his top policy priority, emphasizing the goal of nurturing advanced industries, including AI, as future growth drivers to establish a new foundation for growth.
The first slogan proposed by Lee Jae-myung is 'AI transformation' (AX). He stated that he would increase the proportion of the AI budget to levels above those of advanced countries and open an era of 100 trillion won in private investment.
How much will the budget be increased? The government initially set this year’s AI budget at 1.8 trillion won, but after the supplementary budget was added last month, it amounted to a total of 3.6 trillion won. This accounts for 0.53% of the main budget.
The United States' AI budget, based on the 2025 fiscal year (October 2024 to September 2025), accounts for 0.27% (20 billion dollars, approximately 28.34 trillion won) of the total budget. In terms of scale, Korea's AI budget is about one-eighth of that of the U.S., but in terms of proportion, Korea holds an advantage.
In China's case, both the scale and proportion are greater than Korea's. This year, China allocated 0.68% (191.7 billion yuan, approximately 38 trillion won) of its total budget to AI and data center infrastructure support.
If the AI-related budget is set at a slightly higher proportion of '0.7%' than China's, the scale would be approximately 4.7 trillion won based on this year's main budget. This means that an additional 1.1 trillion won must be injected into AI on top of the current budget of 3.6 trillion won.
It is anticipated that this amount will be used for the resources outlined by Lee Jae-myung, such as securing 50,000 GPUs. Previously, the government allocated 1.5 trillion won in the first supplementary budget of 2025 to secure 10,000 GPUs. When calculating this based on 50,000 GPUs, it is expected that an additional 6 trillion won will be needed to purchase 40,000 more, excluding the initially allocated 10,000.
◇ Kim Moon-soo emphasizes nurturing human resources for an AI powerhouse
Kim Moon-soo's AI pledge focuses on nurturing human resources and supporting essential infrastructure. Specific support for corporations is limited to the establishment of a '100 trillion won public-private joint fund.' It indicates a conservative government's thinking that private corporations are the main players in AI development, while the government intends to focus on human resources and the development of science and technology.
Regarding the securing of AI human resources, Kim stated that he would increase the enrollment of AI software graduate schools and key universities and provide support for labor costs and research expenses to attract excellent foreign talent. He also plans to strengthen digital literacy education so that all citizens can actively utilize AI.
Investment in the science sector, which forms the basis of advanced technology, will also be concentrated. He mentioned plans to amend the Basic Science and Technology Act and to establish a Vice Minister of Science and a special diplomatic envoy for science. In 2004, the Roh Moo-hyun administration had the Minister of Science and Technology also serve as the vice prime minister, but in 2008, the Lee Myung-bak administration merged the Ministry of Science and Technology with the Ministry of Education. Although the Ministry of Science and Technology was revived as the Ministry of Science and ICT, the vice minister position disappeared.
Improvements in the treatment of scientists will also be pursued. The government plans to extend the retirement age of researchers at government-funded research institutions to 65 years and to raise the salary standards for research and development positions. They also plan to strengthen support measures through the Scientist Mutual Aid Association.
In terms of the AI industry, the promise includes stabilizing the supply of essential infrastructure such as electricity. Nuclear power is cited as a key power source. Plans include advancing the construction of six large nuclear power plants that are either under construction or planned, along with promoting the commercialization of Korean small modular reactors. The promise also includes reducing industrial electricity rates.
◇ Lee Jun-seok’s corporate support plan allows differential minimum wage for foreigners
Lee Jun-seok did not include AI-related content in his pledge book. His industrial pledges can be summarized as promoting reshoring and overwhelming deregulation.
As a measure to promote reshoring, he stated that if domestic corporations that have moved their production facilities abroad return to major national industrial complexes such as Ulsan-Mipo, Yeosu, Banwol-Sihwa, Onsan, Changwon, and Gumi, they would allow differential application of minimum wage for foreign workers for up to 10 years. This implies that the government would permit paying lower minimum wages to foreigners than to natives.
While it serves as an incentive for corporations, it is expected to cause controversy as it violates the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 111 (prohibition of wage discrimination) that Korea has ratified.
Kim Moon-soo also shook his head at the differential application of minimum wage for foreigners. During the parliamentary confirmation hearing for the Minister of Employment and Labor candidate in August last year, Kim Moon-soo, the then-candidate, said, 'Applying differential minimum wage solely based on the reason of being a foreign worker could conflict with constitutional rights (equality), international standards (ILO Convention No. 111), and domestic laws (Labor Standards Act, Foreign Employment Act), thus necessitating a cautious approach.'
There are also concerns that without the advantage of high wages, foreign workers would no longer have reasons to come to Korea, which could lead to labor shortages. Professor Jeon Young-soo of Hanyang University noted, 'The minimum wage system is a motivation for Southeast Asian youth to enter the country in pursuit of the 'Korean Dream', and since other countries are likely to maintain a minimum wage system, Korea should also view this system positively as a strategy for attracting foreign youth.'
Lee Jun-seok suggested that while wages may be somewhat lower, he would introduce a 'special visa for foreign workers' to simplify the process for entry into the country. Since this would ensure a higher level of pay than local wages even if it is less than the minimum wage, it reflects the consideration that simplified procedures would be more attractive for foreign workers.
Regarding deregulation, he proposed establishing a 'Regulatory Review Board' under the Prime Minister to handle applications and special cases in a one-stop manner. He also suggested extending the current special period of sandbox regulations, which temporarily relax regulations to promote technological development, from four years to a maximum of ten years.
In terms of science and technology development, he proposed the introduction of a 'researcher pension system'. This would provide monthly pension benefits along with rewards for scientists who achieve a certain level of performance, with the aim of enhancing their research motivation and preventing talent outflow.