The Koreas | Economy | East Asia

To Succeed in AI, South Korea Is Reinventing Its Developmental State Model

South Korea is betting big on universal AI access, using state activism and corporate collaboration to strengthen its position in the global AI race.

South Korea has embarked on an ambitious plan by launching the “AI for All” initiative, which aims to make artificial intelligence (AI) widely accessible to all its citizens. This initiative reflects a broader effort to integrate AI into almost every corner of Korean society. Rather than treating AI simply as another emerging technology, South Korea increasingly views it as a technology that will help realize its domestic economic development plans and geoeconomic objectives, retain its technological advantages in key strategic industries, and gain a strong foothold in emerging technologies amid intensifying technological competition.

The South Korean government plans to provide AI learning opportunities to approximately 5.14 million people in 2026. To support this initiative, it is developing AI services based on South Korea’s sovereign AI models, including a general-purpose AI chatbot that citizens will be able to use without charges or usage limits. More importantly, Seoul’s long-term ambition is to move toward an environment in which its citizens can have access to their own AI agents.

This plan can be understood as part of a broader trend among East Asian countries, particularly South Korea and China, toward emphasizing the rapid implementation and widespread application of AI. This approach reflects the distinction drawn by Kai-Fu Lee in his book “AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order,” in which he contrasted China’s implementation-driven model with the innovation-first strategy associated with the United States. It also differs from the European approach, which places greater emphasis on AI governance, regulation, fundamental rights, and data privacy.

In many parts of the world, especially in liberal democracies, AI remains a subject of debate over safety concerns. In South Korea and other East Asian countries, however, the debate is different: it focuses on how rapidly AI can be deployed. The geoeconomic logic behind this approach is that rapid deployment will not only strengthen their positions in the AI ecosystem but also enable them to become future leaders.

South Korea views AI as one of the most promising next-generation growth engines and a strategic technology that will determine the country’s economic competitiveness. Seoul is learning from its historical experience, as the country’s growth has largely depended on technological upgrading and export-oriented manufacturing. Therefore, South Korea has linked AI to national survival, just as it did with semiconductors, which now form the backbone of the South Korean economy. South Korea’s strength in the semiconductor industry also supports its advancement in AI, as the expansion of AI is closely connected to growing demand in semiconductor-related sectors, including advanced memory, computing infrastructure, and AI chips.

A Shared National Commitment to AI 

The continuing legacy of developmental state practices in South Korea has generated a unique level of commitment among the state, businesses, and society to realizing the country’s national ambitions. Historically, South Korea’s rapid technological advancement resulted from the state’s long-term planning, the establishment of national targets and industrial strategies, businesses’ active support and compliance, and, most importantly, society’s largely unopposed embrace of rapid, growth-oriented development. This national consensus prioritizes technological advancement and the fostering of key strategic industries over other considerations. The same pattern can clearly be observed in the case of AI. 

In South Korea, political parties across the ideological spectrum support not only the rapid advancement of AI but also the goal of making the country a leading AI superpower. When the conservative government led by Yoon Suk-yeol was in power, South Korea set the ambitious goal of becoming one of the world’s top three AI powers, alongside the United States and China. The progressive government under Lee Jae-myung came to power in 2025 after Yoon was impeached, amid significant political conflict and turmoil involving conservative political forces. Nevertheless, one objective remained unchanged: South Korea’s national ambition to become a world-leading AI power. Therefore, a national consensus exists around realizing this ambition, regardless of changes in government and the high level of bipartisan political conflict within South Korea. That’s a consensus rarely seen in many liberal democracies.

The government’s ambition is also being reinforced by extensive business participation and, more importantly, growing societal demand for AI adoption. Frequent meetings between the government and business leaders are taking place in Seoul, with both sides agreeing that they must cooperate extensively to realize South Korea’s national ambitions. 

Even more important is the growing social demand for AI implementation in South Korea. The general view is that rapid deployment will enable society to adopt AI more quickly, ultimately creating new opportunities for both the public and the country. According to a recent survey, almost seven out of ten South Koreans believe that AI services, deployed in collaboration with the government and corporations, will positively impact society.

This contrasts sharply with debates in Western liberal democracies, where AI adoption is often discussed in terms of privacy violations, job displacement, and other risks. Moreover, state-led AI planning is often viewed with greater suspicion in societies where anti-statist attitudes are more widespread. This does not mean that such concerns do not exist in South Korean society. However, many people appear to place these concerns within the broader context of the national priority of technological advancement and the belief that South Korea should not fall behind in the global AI race.

Deploying Developmental State Practices

In implementing its AI strategy, Seoul is deploying the practices of the developmental state, through which it previously achieved rapid technological advancement and built globally competitive........

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