Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party, declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election and visited a domestic artificial intelligence (AI) startup as his first schedule. The former representative toured the AI semiconductor development site and promised national support for the AI industry. The AI startup requested measures to prevent the brain drain of talent in the AI field.
On the morning of the 14th, the former representative visited FuriosaAI in Gangnam, Seoul, to meet with employees and researchers. FuriosaAI is a domestic fabless (semiconductor design specialist) company developing semiconductor neural processing units (NPUs) specialized for AI computation. It is also known for having previously rejected acquisition offers from major U.S. tech companies like Meta.
The former representative appeared at the FuriosaAI headquarters that day wearing a light beige coat and without a tie. He observed the second-generation AI semiconductor 'Renegade' developed by FuriosaAI and visited the server room to see how AI processes data. He also jokingly asked Baek Jun-ho, the CEO of FuriosaAI, if the company name was related to the Mad Max movie.
In opening remarks, the former representative said, 'My main concern is how to help many people live better lives in a better environment,' and noted, 'We should look into how the national community can prepare for an AI society. I see new hope emerging.'
The former representative announced AI-related policies as his first campaign promise before the election. Specifically, they included: ▲strengthening the functions of the National AI Committee under the President ▲establishing a national AI data aggregation cluster ▲opening public data to corporations for research and development ▲creating a global AI co-investment fund ▲introducing AI 'STEM' education programs ▲establishing AI departments at regional universities ▲rationalizing AI regulations ▲pursuing the national project 'AI for All.'
Notably, before declaring his candidacy, he emphasized national support for advanced industries by mentioning 'K-NVIDIA,' and it is reported that during a closed meeting, he hinted at the creation of sovereign wealth funds for AI development. FuriosaAI requested support measures to prevent workers from leaving the country.
Kang Yoo-jung, spokesperson for the Lee Jae-myung camp, met reporters after the meeting and said, 'Candidate Lee inquired about what kind of government formation or assistance is needed (from FuriosaAI),' and added, 'There were discussions about measures such as leading fund creation to reinforce the aggregated capital or technology capability.'
Regarding the 'AI for All' project announced by the former representative that morning, Spokesperson Kang noted, 'The concept of 'AI for All' emerged in terms of everyone being able to experience AI at the commercialization stage,' and added, 'The idea is that national participation in data learning and validation processes can be helpful.'