Ha Jung-woo (하정우), the new full-time vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, took office on Sunday and said he would speed up the “three mega projects for South Korea’s great leap” centred on semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres, along with a national AI transformation.

In his inaugural address, Ha said the committee should present a national AI vision and serve as a central pillar of national AI governance by linking private-sector innovation capacity with the government's policy capacity to produce tangible results.

He set out operational directions including pooling national capabilities to become a top three AI power, driving an AI transformation across industry, the public sector and daily life, and realising “AI for everyone” so all citizens can benefit from AI.

He also said the government would strengthen cross-government policy coordination and public-private cooperation around the “three mega projects for South Korea’s great leap,” with semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres as the three pillars. The committee will also pursue building an AI ecosystem that links semiconductors and AI infrastructure with physical AI and the manufacturing and robotics industries.

He said the committee will push measures to expand AI use across industry and research, education and healthcare, and administration and public services. It will also pursue ways to connect regional industrial bases and talent to growth in the AI industry.

“We will swiftly decide necessary policies, actively coordinate issues among ministries and boldly remove obstacles in the field,” Ha said.

He also presented the “AI for everyone” policy, aimed at improving public access to AI, as a key task. It seeks to spread AI benefits across companies, regions, generations and social classes, and enable people to feel AI results in real life.

The committee plans to review progress on South Korea’s AI Action Plan and the three mega projects, and support follow-through into related policies, projects and investment.

“A good strategy is only the beginning, and what matters is execution and results,” Ha said. “We will do everything in our role so that, by steadily pushing ahead with a national AI transformation, South Korea can make a leap to become an ‘irreplaceable South Korea’ that the world needs.”