South Korean Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon (C), who doubles as deputy prime minister for science affairs, and others pose for a group photo during a ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, 29 July 2026, to launch an alliance aimed at promoting public-private cooperation for the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Photo by YONHAP / EPA

Aug. 30 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Science Ministry is considering an overhaul of its artificial intelligence strategy to focus more heavily on developing frontier-level models capable of competing with leading U.S. and Chinese systems.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Sunday it is reviewing changes to its sovereign AI foundation model project and other programs as rapid technological advances shorten the window in which South Korea can remain competitive.

Artificial Analysis’ Intelligence Index released this month showed rapid improvements among leading AI models.

Anthropic’s Claude Opus and OpenAI’s GPT recorded scores of 63 and 61, respectively, improvements of 13 and 10 points from January.

China’s Moonshot AI saw its Kimi model rise from 41 to 60 while Alibaba’s Qwen increased from 30 to 58.

Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said at the second Science, Technology and Artificial Intelligence Future Strategy Meeting on Thursday that standards established 18 months earlier for the country’s sovereign AI model project may no longer be appropriate in an industry changing every three to six months.

“At the very least, 2027 is the point at which we need to determine the outcome of the AI competition,” Bae said. “The direction we take from here is important.”

One of the biggest questions is funding.

Bae said in July that developing an AI model at the level of Anthropic’s “Mythos” could require 10,000 of Nvidia’s latest Vera Rubin graphics processing units and about 3.5 trillion won ($2.55 billion).

The ministry is discussing a new support framework with budget officials and other government agencies.

Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung said this month that the government recognizes the need to secure a top-tier independent AI model and is discussing a new support system with relevant ministries.

Officials said the ministry also plans to consult participating companies as evaluation standards evolve.

A ministry official said the third evaluation stage will establish a “moving target” by discussing development goals and assessment methods with participating companies.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260830010010171