President Lee Jae-myung visited Ulsan on the 20th, where a 100 megawatt AI data center is being established, emphasizing the revitalization of the local economy through advanced technology industries. In the AI field, this is President Lee's top election pledge, focusing on the large-scale establishment of data centers and the creation of a fund to realize 100 trillion won in AI investment to enter the ranks of the 'big three AI powers.' This was also what President Lee presented during the expanded session of the G7 summit held in Canada on the 17th, choosing the field of AI as his first external schedule after returning home.

President Lee Jae-myung is applauding at the opening ceremony of the Ulsan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center held at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center on the 20th. /Courtesy of the Presidential Photojournalism Group

On the morning of the same day, the President attended the launch ceremony for the AI data center held at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center located in Ulsan's Ulju County. In attendance were Kim Yong-beom, head of the policy office, Ha Jun-kyung, senior economic growth advisor, Ha Jung-woo, senior future planning advisor for AI, and Ryu Deok-hyun, advisor for financial planning, among others. Recently, SK Group revealed plans to build a large-scale AI-exclusive data center in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) at the Ulsan Mipo National Industrial Complex, and key figures from the Presidential Office's policy line were all present.

In his opening remarks, the President noted, 'The mere fact that we are attracting a large-scale AI data center to the region carries significant meaning,' and expressed gratitude to Chey Tae-won, saying, 'Our Chairman of SK has worked hard.' He added, 'The reason I made a special effort to come here today is to create new hope for the local economic industry.'

He also remarked, 'In the future, it seems that this could become a model case showing that advanced technology industries in Korea can thrive not only in the metropolitan area but also in the provinces.' He noted, 'I saw that the Korean stock market was hitting 2999.1; I hope it surpasses 3000 points with renewed expectations and moves into a new era of growth.' He expressed his desire for the Ulsan economy to revitalize and for Korea's growth to blossom, stating that during the election process, he had pledged to make economic growth the top priority, aiming for a 'KOSPI 5000 era.'

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the AI Global Cooperation Corporations meeting held at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center on the 20th. From left, Chey Tae-won, SK Group Chairman, President Lee, and Kim Du-gyeom, Ulsan Mayor. /Courtesy of the Presidential Photojournalism Group

◇'25% of the public sector to be AI integrated… I ask the government to become the consumers,'

After the launch ceremony, the President chaired a meeting with global AI collaboration companies. Proposals from industry leaders, including Chairman Chey, were made during the session. Specifically, they requested ▲ the expansion of the AI one-stop voucher program ▲ government support for fostering 20,000 AI startups within the next five years ▲ the integration of AI into 25% of the public market by government departments ▲ the mandatory inclusion of AI as a subject in primary and secondary education ▲ the designation of Ulsan as an AI special zone and a mega-sandbox. This indicates a request for the government to move beyond merely being policy supporters and become the largest consumers.

Chairman Chey stated, 'We need to form an AI market led by the government, asking the government to become the consumer.' He explained, 'By ordering AI applications for use across government departments, we can realize 'AI governmentization,' and this innovation can significantly generate public demand.' He added that a market of 5 trillion won could be created over the next five years, stating, 'I believe that 25% of the entire public market can be integrated with AI through government orders.'

SK plans to expand the data center, currently under construction at a scale of 100 megawatts, to 1 gigawatt in the future. In attendance at the meeting were Chairman Chey, Chung Shina, CEO of Kakao, Lee Jun-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS, Bae Kyung-hoon, head of LG AI Research, Seo Beom-seok, CEO of Lunit, Baek Joon-ho, CEO of FuriosaAI, Cho Jun-hee, chairman of the Korea AI and SW Association, and Kim Yoo-won, CEO of Naver Cloud.