The South Korean government plans to spend up to 2.4 trillion won (US$1.67 billion) this year to support AI adoption across public sectors, including defence and agriculture.
The initiative, announced at a meeting of science-related ministers chaired by Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, will see the funds distributed to 33 government agencies, Yonhap reported.
The figure represents a fivefold increase compared with last year.
As part of the plan, Seoul will establish a cross-government AI collaboration framework, providing graphics processing units (GPUs), AI models and data, as well as consulting programmes, to encourage the use of AI in the public sector.
“During CES 2026, I noticed that the AI sector is moving beyond the digital realm and rapidly spreading across industries such as robotics, manufacturing and logistics, as demonstrated by China’s physical AI capabilities,”
Bae said.
“In order for South Korea to become one of the world’s three AI powerhouses and among the top five technology leaders, we need to take more swift measures,”
he added.
The government plans to strengthen cross-ministry capabilities to establish mid- and long-term AI investment strategies and generate tangible results from research and development projects.
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