S Korea's new president taps LG AI chief as minister

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Bae Kyung-hoon, president of LG AI Research, as the new minister of science and ICT.

The appointment, announced on June 24, aims to strengthen the country’s efforts to become a global leader in AI.

It follows the June 15 appointment of Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver AI Innovation Center, as the senior secretary of AI and future planning.

Together, they are expected to lead a national AI strategy backed by over 100 trillion won (US$72.29 billion) in public-private investment.

Bae, 49, has worked at Samsung, SK, and LG. He joined LG in 2016 and became the founding president of LG AI Research in 2020.

His team developed the hyperscale language model Exaone and Korea’s first interference AI model, Exaone Deep.

Once approved by parliament, he will oversee science and digital infrastructure policies, working with Ha to ensure coordination among agencies.

They support building local AI models using domestic infrastructure and resources.

🔗 Source: The Korea Herald

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ South Korea’s pivot to AI leadership follows the 2016 “AlphaGo shock”

The appointment of AI experts from LG and Naver reflects a strategic acceleration that began after Google’s AI defeated Korean Go champion Lee Sedol in 2016, which prompted an immediate $860 million government investment in AI research1.

This moment created urgency around AI development in Korea, with officials viewing it as a wake-up call about potentially falling behind global competitors in critical technology.

The current administration’s 100 trillion won ($72.29 billion) investment represents a significant escalation from that initial response, demonstrating how the AlphaGo match influenced Korea’s approach to AI policy.

South Korea’s strategy aligns with global patterns where countries develop national AI strategies to secure competitive advantages, with particular focus on competing with the US and China2.

The appointment of industry experts rather than career bureaucrats signals recognition that AI development requires specialized knowledge and practical experience that traditional government structures may lack.