Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bahk Kyung-hoon has pinpointed \u2018quantum\u2019 technology as the core driving force behind the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI), stressing that industry, academia, and research institutes must join forces for large-scale investment. The South Korean government\u2019s vision is to create an \u2018irreplaceable Republic of Korea\u2019 by investing 1,000 trillion won (approximately $648.4 billion) in AI data centers by 2035, while simultaneously pursuing a quantum sector development plan of comparable magnitude.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Science and ICT opened \u2018Quantum Korea 2026\u2019 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul on the 2nd. The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Bahk, Organizing Committee Chairman Kim Tae-hyun (Professor at Seoul National University), National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Chairman Song Ki-heon, Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Jung-ah, and People Power Party lawmaker Choi Hyung-doo, who discussed quantum research, industry, and policy directions.<\/p>\n
In his congratulatory address, Deputy Prime Minister Bahk mentioned the three major mega-projects recently announced by the government\u2014semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers\u2014before identifying quantum technology as the ultimate battleground in the competition for technological hegemony. \u201cIt seems that after artificial intelligence comes quantum,\u201d he said. \u201cCurrently, AI is racing toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) through the advancement of large language models (LLMs), but the current AI computation methods require enormous costs and power, and will reach their limits before long.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cFor AGI to be perfectly integrated into our daily lives, the advancement of quantum technology and the commercialization of computing technology are essential,\u201d noting that quantum technology will be the next-generation paradigm to overcome AI\u2019s computational limits.<\/p>\n
Quantum technology applies quantum mechanical phenomena from the microscopic world of atoms and electrons, and is broadly divided into three fields: quantum computing, quantum cryptography communication, and quantum sensing. Quantum computing is expected to revolutionize areas such as new drug development and new material design by dramatically shortening calculations that would take conventional supercomputers hundreds of years. Quantum cryptography communication is a fundamentally secure technology where any eavesdropping attempt is immediately detected, drawing attention in the defense and finance sectors.<\/p>\n
Assessing South Korea\u2019s technological status, Deputy Prime Minister Bahk commented, \u201cWe are preparing in various fields such as sensing technology and encryption technology, and we are already achieving remarkable results in the encryption field.\u201d He explained, \u201cNumerous startups in South Korea, as well as the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) and institutes of science and technology, are also working to advance quantum technology.\u201d He particularly noted that he visited the United States last year to discuss quantum cooperation with IBM and Microsoft, and that various international collaborations are underway through participation in the European Union\u2019s \u2018Horizon Europe\u2019 program.<\/p>\n
Just as it is investing 1,000 trillion won in AI data centers, the government\u2019s position is that industry, academia, and research institutes must jointly materialize large-scale investment and development plans in the quantum field. Deputy Prime Minister Bahk stated, \u201cTo create an irreplaceable Republic of Korea, industry, academia, and research institutes must all work together.\u201d He added, \u201cWe are building a cooperation system through the recently launched \u2018Quantum Alliance,\u2019 and through the establishment of quantum clusters, we will enable companies to gather around regional hubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also emphasized, \u201cThe areas the government is focusing on in particular are balanced regional development and presenting a future vision for young people,\u201d adding, \u201cWe will create an optimal research environment where the government continuously supports young people so they can persistently conduct research and advance the quantum field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on the 1st, the day before the event, the Ministry of Science and ICT unveiled a detailed strategy aimed at becoming the \u2018top player in physical AI,\u2019 outlining the contours of AI policy to be pursued alongside quantum technology. The ministry stressed that the physical AI market is still in its early stages with no dominant player, expressing confidence that South Korea can catch up with global big tech within three years by leveraging field data from its powerful manufacturing infrastructure as a weapon.<\/p>\n
Lee Do-gyu, Director General of the ICT Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, explained, \u201cEmphasizing the top spot was about presenting a target to leap toward,\u201d adding, \u201cUnlike LLMs, physical AI is an early market where training data must be created from scratch, which gives South Korea room to catch up.\u201d The core of the physical AI technology competition lies in simultaneously securing a \u2018world model\u2019 that predicts the physical laws of the real world in virtual space and generates synthetic data, and a \u2018robot foundation model (RFM)\u2019 that allows robots to perceive situations and decide on actions.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Science and ICT views securing an independent world model as directly linked to technological sovereignty. Park Tae-wan, Director General for ICT Policy, stressed the need to build a domestic full-stack system, saying, \u201cIf we simply use foreign world model platforms as they are, core unmanned factory operation data or sensitive national security-related data could be leaked overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his opening address, Organizing Committee Chairman Kim Tae-hyun said, \u201cQuantum Korea is growing beyond simply being a venue to introduce the latest research achievements, into a forum where we ask and answer together what role quantum science and technology can play in our society and industry.\u201d He added, \u201cI hope the conversations and encounters at this event will lead to new joint research, industrial opportunities, and broader international cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s announcement is interpreted as part of a national technological transformation strategy encompassing semiconductors, AI, and now quantum technology. The plan is to expand computing infrastructure by investing 1,000 trillion won in AI data centers, while gaining an edge in the global technological hegemony competition through preemptive investment in quantum technology, the next-generation computational paradigm. In particular, by emphasizing the creation of regional clusters through industry-academia-research collaboration and support for young researchers, the government presented a blueprint that goes beyond simple technology development to consider balanced national development and the cultivation of future talent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bahk Kyung-hoon has pinpointed \u2018quantum\u2019 technology as the core…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6744,86,3013,49673,49676,2618,320,12926,708,49674,2844,48879,49675,33463],"class_list":["post-94987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-agi","tag-agi","tag-ai-data-center","tag-artificial-general-intelligence","tag-bahk-kyung-hoon","tag-horizon-europe","tag-ibm","tag-microsoft","tag-ministry-of-science-and-ict","tag-physical-ai","tag-quantum-alliance","tag-quantum-computing","tag-quantum-korea-2026","tag-robot-foundation-model","tag-world-model"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}