Park Yong-sun, Director General for Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, emphasized, "If corporations are considering an artificial intelligence transition (AX), they must first decide whether to develop AI in-house or pursue AX with government support."

Park made these remarks during a general discussion at the "SME AX Leaders Forum," held on the 26th at the Shilla Hotel in Jangchung-dong, Seoul. He added, "Small and midsize enterprises that decide to seek government support should gather information through the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website or by asking the regional Small and Medium Business Administration or the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs."

The discussion was chaired by Kim Do-hyun, dean of the Graduate School of Business at Kookmin University, and joined by Professor Bu Seok-jun of Gyeongsang National University, Oh Kyung-jin, CEO of Taelim Industrial, Kim Se-hoon, head of BCC Global Korea, and Director General Park. While acknowledging small and midsize corporations' challenges such as expense burdens and labor shortages in adopting AX, the experts agreed that "an AI transition is essential."

From the left, O Gyeong-jin, CEO of Taelim Industrial, Kim Se-hoon, Korea representative of BCC Global, Kim Do-hyeon, dean of the Graduate School of Business at Kookmin University, Bu Seok-jun, professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at Gyeongsang National University, and Park Yong-sun, director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, are holding a panel discussion at the SME AX Leaders Forum held on the 26th at the Shilla Hotel in Jangchung-dong, Seoul. /Courtesy of ChosunBiz

Oh Kyung-jin, CEO of Taelim Industrial, stressed "employee participation" as the "first step for AX." Oh said, "AI should be recognized not as a solution for a single process, but as basic capacity for the tasks ahead," adding, "If you structure the organization by, for example, establishing a meeting system, a roadmap will emerge for how to introduce AI afterward."

Professor Bu Seok-jun of Gyeongsang National University said, "Before corporations make efforts, it is urgent to establish standards to assess the AI maturity of small and medium venture corporations." He added, "Corporations are confused because they don't know where they stand or how far they need to prepare," and noted, "It would be effective to introduce a system that provides step-by-step consulting based on a diagnostic sheet."

The discussion also turned to what virtues matter most in the AI era. Kim Se-hoon, head of BCC Global Korea, emphasized, "If you ask AI precise questions, AI can handle most corporate tasks such as accounting, tax, and finance," adding, "In the AI era, those who ask good questions can succeed."

In response to an on-site question about which AI tools are best for AX, the experts said, "The answer is to use as many practical, readily available tools as possible."

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