KT said on Monday it signed a business agreement with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) to support AI-based inclusive digital transformation and strengthen global capabilities.

NIA has introduced and operated KT's AI competency test, AICE, since 2024 to strengthen AI capabilities among its employees. The two organisations will use the agreement to expand overseas the AI education and certification cooperation experience accumulated in South Korea.

The two sides will jointly promote cooperation on training AI and digital talent and certification systems, international cooperation linked to IAC and IT volunteer groups, and the exchange of AI and digital experts and the spread of education programmes.

They will also link AICE to global cooperation projects such as information access centres (IAC) operated by NIA and the World Friends Korea (WFK) IT volunteer group. IACs are education and utilisation spaces built at local public institutions, government ministries and national universities so people in developing countries can experience and learn digital technology. Since starting in Cambodia in 2002, 64 centres have been established in 48 countries.

In the second half of this year, the two will run pilot AICE Basic education and tests at information access centres in 3 countries: Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Georgia. AICE Basic is a foundational AI competency certification test for non-majors that assesses data analysis, basic AI principles and practical capabilities without coding. Starting in Vietnam in November, they will provide video-on-demand-based online education to 100 people in each country in Sri Lanka and Georgia in December.

Next year, they will link NIA's WFK IT volunteer group with AICE to promote AI education volunteer activities overseas. The two organisations plan to flesh out detailed cooperation measures such as target countries, the scale of education and operating methods.

Lee Jung-woo (이정우), an executive director in charge of KT's ESG promotion, said it was meaningful because it would apply overseas for the first time the AI education and certification experience built in South Korea. He said KT would support and cooperate with NIA so young people in developing countries can build AI capabilities and would steadily expand the scope of cooperation.