1.

Background

In the 21^st presidential election held on June 3, 2025, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea was elected as the nation’s 21^st president. President Lee formally began his term the following day on June 4, 2025, without a Presidential Transition Committee. 

During his campaign, President Lee unveiled the Democratic Party’s campaign Party Platform, titled “From Now On, the Real Republic of Korea” (the “Party Platform”), which is built around three core visions: recovery, growth, and happiness. These visions are supported by 15 policy tasks and 247 specific pledges. Among these, fostering new AI-related industries is one of the key policy tasks within the “growth” category. Below, we summarize the key details.
 

2.

Key AI-Related Pledges by President Lee

President Lee announced his vision to position South Korea among the world’s top three AI powerhouses through the AI Transformation (“AX”) initiative. His plan outlines key priorities such as (i) creating an AI-related industrial innovation ecosystem, (ii) building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure, (iii) introducing legislations and systems to ensure secure and accessible data utilization, and (iv) establishing AI governance, as well as other important initiatives.
 

(1)

Creating an AI-Related Industrial Innovation Ecosystem

The Party Platform outlines plans for government-led advancement of the AI industry with more investment. Central to this initiative is the creation of a large-scale national fund, which will be open to all economic stakeholders, to drive growth in Korea’s high-tech strategic industries such as AI, with a targeted investment of KRW 100 trillion. Additionally, key policy proposals include (i) supporting the development of next-generation AI semiconductors, (ii) providing assistance for the R&D and commercialization of large and small language models (LLMs and SLMs), and (iii) promoting the growth of the physical AI (humanoid robot) industry within both industrial and service sectors.

The Party Platform further sets out plans to cultivate leading domestic AI companies, plans to establish a pilot city dedicated to AI, and plans to invest in “AI infrastructure for industries with regional strength” by leveraging private sector expertise in partnership with government support. These initiatives signal the new administration’s strong commitment to actively investing in and promoting AI-related industries.

Furthermore, to ensure access for all citizens, the Party Platform proposes (i) developing a national LLM and releasing it as an open source, (ii) expanding level-based, customized education and providing digital devices and services to individuals disadvantaged in AI, and (iii) expanding and improving the quality of public Wi-Fi infrastructure in public places, such as public facilities and downtown areas.
 

(2)

Building AI Infrastructure

The Party Platform includes promises to build AI infrastructure nationwide. Key policy proposals include (i) advancing the commercialization of next-generation (6G) AI-based networks by 2030 (with pilot services to be launched in 2028), (ii) developing an “AI highway” by building AI data centers equipped with the latest GPUs, and (iii) establishing specialized industrial AI clusters to serve as a foundation for a national AI innovation hub.

In particular, the Party Platform provides goals to (i) actively promote the transition from public clouds to domestically operated private clouds and (ii) designate AI data centers as “next-generation national social overhead capital (SOC).” To support this initiative, the government will implement a comprehensive support system to streamline administrative processes. Collectively, these measures will create more opportunities for businesses operating in the AI sector.
 

(3)

Improving Laws and Systems to Facilitate the Use of AI

The Party Platform includes plans to enhance the legal and regulatory framework to promote the development and utilization of AI. The National Artificial Intelligence Commission (“NAIC”), a presidential committee, will serve as an effective AI control tower. The new administration will establish (i) a position of Senior Secretary for AI Policy in the President’s Office, who will serve as the country’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, and (ii) an AI strategic organization to devise and implement AX strategies.

A key legislative milestone is the anticipated prompt enactment of the subordinate legislations under the Basic Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Establishment of Foundation for Trustworthiness (the “AI Basic Act”), which is set to take effect on January 22, 2026. The government is also expected to promptly issue a presidential decree and guidelines outlining specific plans for the implementation of the AI Basic Act.

The Party Platform also contains a variety of promises designed to promote the use of data in the private sector. To this end, the new administration plans to increase access to public data and, with particular emphasis on ensuring that such data is released in machine-readable formats to enhance the practical utility of the data. The Party Platform also proposes (i) establishing a cluster for integrating high-quality data for AI training and creating a Party Platform to make these datasets available, and (ii) purchasing and processing data from broadcasters, which will then be disclosed through designated data hubs.
 

(4)

Others

The Party Platform presents a number of additional policies, including (i) education and research programs to nurture AI experts, (ii) measures to promote IT and SW exports, and (iii) policies to revitalize youth entrepreneurship, such as lowering corporate and personal income taxes. Through these policies, the government plans to concentrate its investments in AI-related industries and actively support the development of skilled professionals in this field.  
 

3.

Conclusion and Implications

According to the Party Platform, the Lee Administration will fully mobilize all national resources to actively invest in AI-related industries. Given the direction of the policies aimed at developing and revitalizing the AI industry, the new administration’s stance on the enforcement of AI-related regulations remains to be seen.

Moreover, with the rapid growth and evolution of the AI industry and related services, the Lee Administration may revise its policies in the Party Platform to keep pace with changing market conditions and emerging trends.

We anticipate that the new administration’s approach will become clearer once it appoints a Chief AI Officer and key ministers of relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Science and ICT and the NAIC, and releases more detailed plans.