It has been confirmed that Cheong Wa Dae is reexamining from scratch the appointment of a successor to former senior secretary for AI future planning Ha Jung-woo. Earlier, it was reported that Lee Ki-hyuk, head of the startup ecosystem at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Korea, had been tapped, but officials are searching for a third candidate instead of Lee. It is also said that they are looking for a new face for the executive vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, a post that former senior secretary Ha was reportedly being strongly considered for.
According to political circles and the AI industry on the 1st, the decision to name Lee Ki-hyuk as senior secretary for AI future planning has been scrapped. An AI industry official said, "After reports that Lee had been tapped, I understand he was actually excluded from the pool of candidates." A political source also said, "Including Lee, I understand there is no particularly strong contender at this point."
In response, Cheong Wa Dae says it never officially named a successor to the senior secretary for AI, so there was no withdrawal of a nomination. However, after reports that Lee had been tapped, Cheong Wa Dae did not deny them. A political source said, "Given that Cheong Wa Dae has recently responded aggressively to articles it deems inaccurate, the report on the AI senior secretary successor was effectively acknowledged."
The senior secretary for AI future planning post has been vacant for more than two months since former senior secretary Ha Jung-woo resigned in April to run in a by-election for National Assembly member in Buk-gu Gap, Busan. On June 21, when the second reshuffle of Cheong Wa Dae's aides was announced, it was expected that the AI senior secretary would be announced as well, but no appointment was made.
In the AI industry, there is speculation that Cheong Wa Dae is seeking a new figure for the AI senior secretary in line with the recently announced three mega projects. Co-chair Oh Soon-young of the AI Future Forum and Upstage CEO Kim Sung-hoon have also been mentioned.
Meanwhile, the executive vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, the control tower that oversees the national AI strategy along with the AI senior secretary, has also remained vacant for an extended period. Although there were reports that former senior secretary Ha had been tapped as vice chair, the atmosphere suggests they are re-sorting the candidate pool, including new names.