The Ministry of Science and ICT will be promoted to a deputy prime minister-level ministry for the first time in 17 years and will officially launch as the national control tower for science, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). The presidential office said on the 30th that the Cabinet reviewed and approved a revision to the Government Organization Act to that end.
Under the revision, the Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT will concurrently serve as deputy prime minister and will oversee and coordinate relevant central administrative agencies on science, technology, and AI policy. This reorganization carries the goal of successfully implementing the new administration's key state agenda of "leaping into the world's top three in AI" by pooling the resources and capabilities of the government, the private sector, and local governments to lead national AI innovation.
To that end, a "science and technology and AI policy cooperation officer (Director General level)" will be newly established under the direct control of the deputy prime minister, and a "meeting of ministers related to science and technology and AI" will be set up to strengthen cross-ministerial leadership. This meeting will not be a simple agenda-processing session but will serve as a cooperative platform that plans and shares agendas requiring national effort to bind all ministries into one team.
In addition, the existing AI-based Policy Bureau at the bureau level will be expanded and strengthened into the "AI Policy Office," under which the AI Policy Planning Officer and the AI Infrastructure Policy Officer will be placed. The AI Policy Office will be the core organization that plans and executes national AI policy and is expected to lead the establishment of the national AI ecosystem and government-wide innovation.
The AI Policy Planning Officer will design policies and legal and institutional frameworks to foster the AI industry and ensure safety and trust, and will focus on nurturing AI talent. The AI Infrastructure Policy Officer will expand key infrastructure such as AI computing resources, data, and cloud, and will support the use of AI in the public sector, industry, and regions based on this.
Also, the spokesperson position will be elevated from Director General level to Deputy Minister level to strengthen communication in science, technology, and AI in line with the changing media environment. Bae Kyung-hun, Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said this reorganization will serve as a catalyst for a national grand transformation and that the ministry will aim to realize an "AI basic society" in which the public enjoys the benefits of AI, leading Korea to secure a position as a leading nation in global competition.