Three weeks before the presidential election, The National Academy of Engineering of Korea held a discussion at the National Assembly to seek solutions for energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and talent strategies. Various experts from The National Academy of Engineering of Korea announced a policy brief, promising that the chairs of the policy committees from major parties, including the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, would incorporate the proposals into their presidential election pledges.
The policy brief presented by The National Academy of Engineering of Korea was developed over four months with the participation of more than 100 experts from academia and industry. Park Soo-kyung, vice president of The National Academy of Engineering of Korea (KAIST professor), who led the policy brief project, noted, “The priority tasks for the next government are to build both tangible and intangible innovation infrastructure in energy, AI, and talent, and to create synergies.”
Professor Park Jong-bae from Konkuk University, who was responsible for the energy sector presentation, emphasized the need for a stable low-carbon power supply chain to achieve AI supremacy. He stated that reforms in the power industry, strengthening the power grid infrastructure, and activating the power transaction system are necessary. Professor Park said, “The power industry must be treated as a national strategic project” and added, “It should be managed like in the United States, where the government acts as the control tower.”
The necessity for an active government role in the AI sector was also emphasized. Koo Hyun-mo, a concurrent professor at KAIST and former CEO of KT, said, “Building AI computing infrastructure is crucial; however, the government’s announcement of securing 18,000 GPUs is absurdly insufficient,” and added, “While China discusses 500,000 GPUs, the government needs to collaborate with the private sector to solve these issues.”
Professor Koo pointed out that there is a need for changes in government AI governance. He remarked, “The AI-related government departments are so fragmented that there is a lack of coordination,” and indicated that “a governance structure for planning and promoting AI at the inter-ministerial level is necessary.”
Professor Joo Young-chang from Seoul National University advised that universities, corporations, and the government should form a team to present strategies for nurturing science and engineering talent, and that science and engineering graduate schools should transition to a research system centered on organizations. Professor Joo stated, “The current university research system operates with professors independently managing and funding their own research,” and added, “A block-unit research support system is needed to allow for long-term and stable research.”
The policy committee chairs from the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, who attended the discussion, stated that they would incorporate The National Academy of Engineering of Korea’s proposals into their presidential election policies. Kim Sang-hoon, chair of the People Power Party’s policy committee, said, “I will strive to support the proposals made today through legislation in the National Assembly.” Jin Sung-jun, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea’s policy committee, also stated, “How we address the issues of AI, energy, and talent is a critical issue that will determine the future,” and stressed, “Everyone must come together and move in the same direction.”