South Korea is building its own AI language models
In August 2025, South Korea kicked off a massive ₩530 billion ($390 million) project to create homegrown AI language models tailored for Korean language and culture.
Five local companies—LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Naver Cloud, NC AI, and Upstage—are leading the charge to make sure Korea isn't just following global tech giants but competing with them.
The government will check in on progress twice a year
The government will check in on progress twice a year.
Over time, only two companies are expected to make the final cut.
The goal? Make sure whoever moves forward can actually deliver powerful Korean-focused AI that matters.
Each company is bringing something unique
Each company is bringing something unique:
LG's Exaone 4.0 blends industry smarts with hybrid reasoning;
SK Telecom's A.X 4.0 is already serving over 10 million users and processes Korean inputs about 33% more efficiently than GPT-4o;
Naver Cloud's HyperCLOVA X powers search and shopping using real-world data;
Upstage's Solar Pro is all about nailing Korean benchmarks with its large model size for Korean benchmarks.
South Korea isn't stopping at software
South Korea isn't stopping at software—the country is rolling out major hardware too, like SK Telecom's giant "Haein" GPU cluster and a $10 billion data center in Jeollanam-do.
With universities and chipmakers joining in, it's clear they're aiming for a full-on national AI ecosystem that could set new standards in tech innovation.