Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, announced plans to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) policy chief in the presidential office to fully support the advanced industry. He also reiterated that building renewable energy infrastructure is essential for future generations.
The candidate said during a social venture startup meeting held in a shared office in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 29th, "We have entered an era where private capabilities surpass public capabilities, and we will create a dedicated chief for AI to activate the AI-related industry."
The Democratic Party's election countermeasure committee included in the policy pledge book released the previous day a plan to establish an AI policy chief in the presidential office to leap to the top three in AI, as well as to strengthen the role of a national AI commission directly under the president. It also explained plans to create an AI data center using the latest graphics processing units (GPUs) to build an "AI highway."
The meeting focused on creating an ecosystem for social ventures, which refer to corporations with a public interest. Representatives from impact investment firms, virtual power plant companies based on renewable energy, AI data verification specialized companies, and ed-tech specialized companies attended the meeting.
The candidate emphasized, "The era when corporations are created and concentrated on growth according to government economic plans is over, and an ecosystem that seeds and succeeds in the market must be created. Now, it's difficult to be respected as a corporation without engaging in public-interest corporate activities."
The candidate showed great interest in AI technology and the renewable energy industry. He also mentioned the concept of a virtual power plant (VPP), as the building where the meeting was held operates on renewable energy in line with the RE100 initiative, which declares that companies will replace 100% of their electricity needs with eco-friendly renewable energy by 2050. A VPP refers to a system that integrates scattered renewable energy generation facilities by region using software to operate like a single power plant.
The candidate stated, "When the national electricity decreases, the price goes up, and then the electricity stored in my car can be sold. It will be sold by drawing from the electric vehicle that is charging or sitting idle, which is what a virtual power plant does." He added, "It’s an important concept that we should not leave debts for future generations, and if systems like nuclear power plants become excessive, the burden will be shifted in the future."