The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Yoo Sang-im) and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP, President Hong Jin-bae) announced on the 18th that they selected the KAIST-Yonsei University-POSTECH consortium as the implementing agency to build and operate a representative domestic artificial intelligence (AI) research base.

The consortium of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Yonsei University, Korea University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), which was selected as the institution to build and operate the AI ​​research base, plans to attract more than KRW 50 billion in cash and in-kind investment from local governments and companies, including a total of KRW 36 billion in national funds from 2024 to 2028.

It will be built on a scale of approximately 2,132 pyeong (7,050.5㎡) in the AI ​​Hub in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and not only domestic universities but also local governments, large and small businesses, etc. will participate as cooperative organizations. In addition, leading overseas AI research institutes from countries such as the US, Canada, and France will participate as cooperative organizations to ▲ conduct international joint AI research such as research on overcoming neural scaling laws to increase the cost efficiency of AI model training and ▲ research on robot foundation models for next-generation AI robots. 

More than 15 overseas AI researchers will reside in Korea for a certain period of time to conduct joint research with domestic researchers, and regular public presentations and international discussions will also be held.

Kang Do-hyun, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, said, “We will make Korea a global center of AI innovation through the AI ​​research hub,” and added, “We will do our utmost to develop and utilize innovative AI technologies with the best AI researchers at home and abroad, and based on this, solidify Korea’s international leadership in AI.”