SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated, "As proven by the history of the internet and mobile technology, artificial intelligence (AI) will also spread and evolve most rapidly in South Korea."

Chairman Chey made the remarks during his keynote speech at the 'Future Tech Forum: AI' session of the APEC CEO Summit, held at the Gyeongju Expo Park Cultural Center on the afternoon of the 28th. He said, "As AI develops rapidly, bottlenecks are expected in areas like chips and energy. I am confident that South Korea can become a testbed for resolving these bottlenecks through its unique adaptability and speed."

Chairman Chey noted, "Without AI, there is no business topic," adding, "AI has moved beyond competition among companies to become a national growth engine and security asset, driving competition at the state level." He highlighted that the U.S. and China are leading the AI hegemony race with massive investments. "The U.S. aims to strengthen its AI infrastructure to win the AI competition and spread its technology globally," he said. "China is building future AI competitiveness through two pillars: technological self-reliance and expanding domestic demand."

He emphasized, "The AI race is simultaneously a war of scale and a war of speed. Consequently, the gap between those who engage in AI and those who do not will widen, as will disparities between companies, nations, and individuals."

Chairman Chey stressed that public-private cooperation and global trust are essential for South Korea's AI development. "The government and businesses in South Korea are closely collaborating as a 'single team' to find solutions," he said. "However, this does not mean rejecting global collaboration. The establishment of an AWS data center in Ulsan and cooperation with OpenAI on the Stargate project will serve as catalysts for growing South Korea's AI ecosystem."

He expressed confidence that South Korea would proactively and swiftly approach AI elements such as applications, data, and regulations. "Rapid engagement in these diverse fields will create many testbeds and benchmarks, contributing to global AI advancement," he added.

Chey Tae-won: AI to Spread Fastest in South Korea