'Three mega-projects for great leap forward to be pursued with urgency'

'Will do everything to make South Korea irreplaceable on the world stage'

Ha Jung-woo, the newly appointed standing deputy chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, delivers a lecture on "South Korea's AI strategy and the future of the publishing industry" at Mapo Central Library in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Ha Jung-woo, the newly appointed standing deputy chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, delivers a lecture on "South Korea's AI strategy and the future of the publishing industry" at Mapo Central Library in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Ha Jung-woo, the newly appointed standing deputy chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, said Monday he would pursue South Korea's AI transformation without disruption.

In his inauguration address, Ha said the committee would serve as "the driving force that unites the nation's capabilities to lead South Korea's great AI transformation."

He outlined three priorities for the committee: rallying national capabilities to propel South Korea into the ranks of the world's top three AI powers, driving an AI-led transformation across industry, the public sector and everyday life, and realizing "AI for all" — ensuring every citizen benefits from the technology.

As an immediate focus, he said the committee would pursue pan-government policy coordination and stronger public-private cooperation to advance the "Three Mega-Projects for South Korea's Great Leap Forward," built on three pillars: semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers.

To that end, the National AI Strategy Committee plans to build an "innovative AI ecosystem" that organically connects semiconductors, AI infrastructure, physical AI, and the manufacturing and robotics industries. It will also work to consolidate national capabilities so that private-sector investment and innovation can become a new engine of growth for South Korea's AI industry.

Alongside this, the committee will pursue cross-ministry cooperation to embed AI as a genuine driver of innovation across industry, research, education, healthcare, public administration and government services. The three mega-projects will also be linked to regional industrial bases and talent pools, with the aim of creating a "Korean-style AI industrial revolution" in which the greater Seoul metropolitan area and the regions grow together.

"Necessary policies will be decided swiftly, inter-ministry disputes will be actively resolved, and obstacles on the ground will be removed decisively," Ha said.

He added that "AI is not a technology for a handful of companies or a privileged few — it is a technology that expands opportunities and improves the quality of life for all citizens." He said he would work to realize "AI for all," ensuring the benefits of AI spread evenly across society, beyond companies, regions, generations and social strata.

Ha also said the committee would strengthen its policy execution capacity. "I will take full responsibility and provide support to ensure that South Korea's AI action plan and the three mega-projects translate into real policies and projects, investment and industrial growth, and changes that citizens can feel in their daily lives," he said.

He went on to say he would "pursue the Three Mega-Projects for South Korea's Great Leap Forward and the national AI transformation championed by the Lee Jae Myung administration without delay," adding that he would "do everything in my power to help South Korea become a global model and leap forward as an irreplaceable nation the world cannot do without."


ko@heraldcorp.com