ETRI unveils national AI innovation strategy on 50th anniversary

Park Se-ung, president of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). [ETRI]

AI is set to evolve into a "research partner" capable of working alongside scientists — from formulating hypotheses and analyzing data to conducting experiments and verifying results. Development of AI data centers and ultra-fast, ultra-low-latency network technology, both seen as decisive factors in the global AI race, will also accelerate.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), marking its 50th anniversary, plans to combine the ICT capabilities it has built over the past half-century with AI to create new engines of growth for South Korea.

ETRI announced it will hold "ETRI Conference 2026" at L Tower in Yangjae, Seoul, on Tuesday, unveiling "A Warm World We Live in Together, Led by AI and DX Innovation" as its new vision.

Since its founding in 1976, ETRI has led the development of core technologies at key milestones in South Korea's ICT history — including the TDX electronic switching system, CDMA, terrestrial DMB, 4G and 5G mobile communications, high-speed internet, and the AI system Exobrain.

For the next 50 years, AI will be at the center. ETRI will concentrate its R&D capabilities on five priority areas: AI, physical AI, three-dimensional communications, spatial media, and ADX convergence. The institute plans to secure nationally strategic technologies including a full AI stack, real-world understanding AI, an "AI highway," ultra-immersive AI services, and ADX.

One area drawing particular attention is "AI Scientist for All" — a concept to advance AI beyond a simple support tool for searching papers or analyzing data into a genuine "co-scientist" that participates in actual scientific discovery.

To that end, ETRI will develop a multimodal foundation model for joint use in scientific research, along with core technologies for an AI research partner. The goal is to dramatically reduce the time needed for scientific discovery by having AI support researchers in setting hypotheses, analyzing data, and conducting and verifying experiments.

Ko Kwang-won, head of ETRI's AI Data Center Research Division, explains the technology inside a server room. [ETRI]

ETRI is also moving to secure technology for AI data centers — often called "the heart of AI." Global AI competition has expanded beyond models and algorithms into a contest over computing infrastructure encompassing GPUs, data, cloud, AI semiconductors, and networks.

The institute will develop core technologies needed to build a national AI platform, including AI data centers and ultra-fast, ultra-low-latency networks. The strategy is to secure a full AI stack covering everything from AI model development to the data centers and networks that run them.

ETRI is also overhauling its approach to R&D. The institute introduced a new innovation strategy called the "4E Combination," built around four principles: Essential (fundamental technological innovation), Embracing (open inclusivity), Exciting (revitalizing research energy), and Excellent (outstanding growth).

Building on this framework, ETRI will pursue strategy-focused R&D, intensified AI research, mission-driven flagship projects, and the development of differentiated core technologies. It will also expand open research collaboration with universities, companies, government-funded research institutes, and global research organizations.

"We are at a moment when we must combine the ICT capabilities we have accumulated with AI to create new growth engines for South Korea, in the face of the sweeping transformation that is the great AI transition," ETRI President Park Se-ung said. "We will concentrate our R&D capabilities around AI and expand openness and collaboration beyond the boundaries of industry, academia, and research to produce the strategic technologies the nation needs and research outcomes of world-class standing."

nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com