South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT set out plans on 2 October for a 4.7 trillion won equity investment in a frontier AI model project beginning in 2027, alongside its existing sovereign foundation-model programme, The Korea Times reported. The ministry intends to select participating companies through an open application and evaluation process, and would require them to match the government’s investment with private funding.
Key points
- The government plans 4.7 trillion won in equity investment for a frontier model project starting in 2027, with matching funding required from participating companies.
- A special purpose company is one option for carrying out the investment; the project’s structure remains under consideration.
- Dokpamo will continue as a separate foundation-model programme, with two final teams due to be chosen in February 2027.
- The proposed 2027 budget reorganises data support through an equity contribution to Korea Development Bank.
Ryu outlines a 4.7 trillion won investment
Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Je-myung described the frontier project as a different approach from the competition used to develop domestic foundation models. He said the government and participating companies had concluded that competing with leading models would require resources to be pooled. The Korea Times reported that the proposed investment is expected to include 3.9 trillion won for access to 10,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin graphics processing units and 800 billion won to buy training data.
The government is considering a special purpose company as one way to make the equity investment. The project’s structure, its principal companies and the participation of startups had yet to be settled at the time of Ryu’s briefing. He said the choice of equity, rather than support alone, was intended to allow the public to share in returns. The ministry plans to publish an outline of the application criteria in October, The Korea Times reported.
Ryu attributed the change in approach partly to the preview of Claude Mythos in April. He said the government and domestic companies regarded competition among advanced models as having entered a different phase. That is the government’s assessment behind a larger, more concentrated investment. It also makes the terms on which companies receive capital and contribute their own money consequential to how the project operates.
Korea Development Bank takes a data role
The proposed 2027 budget changes the route by which some data funding reaches developers. Budget briefing materials obtained by lawmaker Kim Sun-min put 800 billion won into a programme for frontier AI data competitiveness, compared with 30 billion won for government data support this year, The Elec reported. Within the proposed 800 billion won, 750 billion won is for frontier AI data support and 50 billion won for an AI training base for cybersecurity.
This year, 25 billion won for data purchases and processing was provided directly to teams in the sovereign model competition as grants. Under the proposal for 2027, the 750 billion-won frontier data programme would instead use an equity contribution to Korea Development Bank, which would invest in South Korean AI companies, The Elec reported. The shift would put the bank between the budget and the companies receiving that investment.
The 2027 budget proposal sets aside 5.5937 trillion won to secure advanced AI models and technologies, more than twice the 2.6146 trillion won assigned to that purpose this year. It assigns 3.85 trillion won to obtaining about 10,000 next-generation graphics processing units. Kim said she intended to examine the consolidation of data programmes and the investment terms during parliamentary audits and budget deliberations, The Elec reported.
Dokpamo keeps its February selection
The existing sovereign AI foundation-model project, known as Dokpamo, will continue while the ministry develops the frontier project. Ryu said its third evaluation would select two final teams in February 2027, The Asia Business Daily reported. He said support for those teams, including graphics processing units, would proceed as planned, while the programme’s scope would expand towards uses in industry and the public sector.
Ryu said participation in the frontier project’s open call would be a decision for each company, including the Dokpamo finalists. The government is also considering participation by companies outside the existing competition, among them large businesses and startups. The two programmes would therefore retain separate selection processes even as the proposed data budget brings resources previously associated with sovereign models into the frontier programme.
The ministry plans to settle detailed measures after the National Assembly approves the budget in December 2026. The government then plans to select operators for the frontier project in February or March 2027, The Asia Business Daily reported.
