Government reviews establishing an SPC instead of a 'national AI champion'

The government is reportedly reviewing a plan to abandon the ‘National AI’ project, which it had been pushing to develop an independent AI foundation model, and instead establish a new special purpose company (SPC). According to industry sources, the government is discussing a plan to create an SPC within this year and promote the development of a frontierlevel AI model. Under the existing project, five companies were selected through an open call and evaluation process starting last year, and the second round of evaluation had already been completed. However, it is reported that ongoing controversy over the fairness of the evaluations led the government to reconsider whether to continue the project. In the new plan, the government is said to invest about 5 trillion won to secure roughly 30% of the SPC’s shares, with the remaining funds raised from the private sector. However, there are also concerns in the industry that, given the large amount of funding required, the structure is likely to be centered on large corporations, which could limit startup participation. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it is conducting a comprehensive internal review, including whether to establish the SPC and proceed with a third evaluation.