Government Aims to Launch Domestically Produced AI for Free Public Use Within the Year

The government plans to release a domestically developed artificial intelligence (AI) service that anyone can use for free within the year. This project was promoted to change the reality where, although there are 23 million generative AI users, most rely on foreign services.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will select a consortium of two to three private companies that utilize proprietary AI models by more than 50%. General-purpose AI chatbots and AI agents supporting public services will be included as key offerings. Kakao has expressed its intention to participate, while Naver, SK Telecom, KT, and Upstage are also considering participation.

The open call to select the private consortium will run until the 11th of next month, with the operator to be finalized within the same month following document and presentation evaluations. The goal is to launch an official service within the year following a beta service in September.