The government is moving to fully launch a nationwide AI competition designed to let anyone experience artificial intelligence and build the skills to use it.

The Ministry of Science and ICT held an opening ceremony on Wednesday at the El Tower in Seoul’s Yangjae area to mark the start of the event. Bae Kyung-hoon (배경훈), deputy prime minister and science minister, attended along with members of the public, supporters and representatives of private companies, bringing the total to about 300 people.

The competition offers total prize money of 3 billion won and will run from April to November. It aims for more than 2 million participants and consists of tailored programs for groups ranging from the general public to elementary, middle and high school students, university students and researchers, and vulnerable groups.

For the general public, the programme includes a quiz contest, a call for AI use cases and an AI error-finding event designed to lower barriers to entry. For elementary, middle and high school students, it offers an AI creative contest for making drawings and fairy tales using AI and a robotics challenge. University students and researchers can join the AI Rookie and AI Champion contests to develop AI technologies and services. A "National Happiness AI Competition" for vulnerable groups such as older people and people with disabilities and a "Reboot AI Utilisation Contest" for youths on a career break and women with career experience will also be held.

The ministry plans to connect domestic companies’ AI services across the entire process so the competition can help spread AI services in South Korea. It will run a separate domestic AI track for the AI Rookie and AI Champion contests and use domestic AI services to produce works for the AI creative contest. Top participants identified through the competition will also receive support for employment and start-ups linked to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Startup for Everyone" project.

At the opening ceremony, celebrity Kim Jong-kook was appointed as a public relations ambassador. Three supporters, each representing a different generation including an elementary school student, a university student and an older person, were also appointed. A declaration ceremony was also held for cooperation by a public-private consultative body involving relevant ministries including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense, as well as major companies including Kakao, SK Telecom and LGU+.

Bae said he hoped the competition would become a true "AI festival for everyone" in which anyone can enjoy the possibilities of tomorrow. He said the government would actively support efforts to raise the public’s AI utilisation capabilities to a higher level and ensure an AI-use culture takes root across society, with the competition as a starting point.