The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a business agreement to expand AX across industries.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Han Sung-sook, hereinafter referred to as “MSIT”) , the Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, hereinafter referred to as “MSIT”), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Kim Jeong-kwan, hereinafter referred to as “MOTIE”) announced on Wednesday, October 15th that they will sign a business agreement to expand AX across industries at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council conference room (Jongno-gu, Seoul).

The recent rapid advancement of AI technology is ushering in a new paradigm across industries, and the adoption of AI in industrial settings has become a necessity, not an option. Applying and utilizing AI in industries such as manufacturing to create added value and secure national and corporate competitiveness is paramount. However, the adoption and utilization of AI in the field remains low compared to the industry's capabilities, necessitating a more proactive government role. Based on this consensus, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy—the key ministries for manufacturing and industrial AX—have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to integrate their expertise and capabilities and fully support the successful expansion of AX across industries through coordinated policies.

Key areas of cooperation include: ▲Strengthening AX capabilities and internalizing core technologies across industries; ▲Supporting AI technology commercialization and field-tailored AX technology development for AI ventures, startups, SMEs, and small and medium-sized businesses; ▲Supporting the creation of an AX ecosystem centered on key regional industries; and ▲Actively supporting the smooth implementation of AI-related national tasks. Furthermore, the government plans to closely collaborate to create tangible results for regions, the field, and the public by promoting technology exchange meetings between experts from industry, academia, and research institutions across each ministry.

Through this agreement, the three ministries will establish a full-cycle support system for AX across industries. This organic inter-ministerial collaboration, spanning from securing core AX technologies to industrial application and expansion to startups and SMEs, is expected to accelerate the adoption of AX across industries and establish a foundation for AI utilization regardless of region or company size.

Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Seong-sook said, “In the era of AI transformation where AI is fundamentally changing the industrial and business landscape, small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners are in an increasingly desperate situation where they will have difficulty surviving if they do not utilize AI.” She added, “This agreement ceremony, which is being held jointly by three ministries, will be an important opportunity for AI ventures and startups to secure new growth opportunities and for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners to secure future competitiveness by enabling them to utilize government infrastructure and large corporations’ AI technology and experience.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyung-hoon stated, “The AI transformation is not just a simple technological innovation; it is a national survival strategy that determines national competitiveness and future prosperity.” He added, “We must integrate AI into our manufacturing DNA strengths to acquire technological prowess that the world will pay attention to. To this end, the three ministries will work together as one team to pursue consistent policies.” He also emphasized, “The Ministry of Science and ICT will spur the establishment and internalization of basic AI capabilities to accelerate the spread of AX,” and “This business agreement will be an important turning point that will advance the spread of AX across industries based on core AI technologies and infrastructure and open up new global markets together with AI startups.”

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan said, “AI transformation is the only solution to overcome the crises our industry is facing, such as population decline, stagnant productivity, and China’s technological pursuit,” and emphasized, “To survive in the race for speed for survival, we must closely connect AI, data, and manufacturing sites, and leverage our strengths to achieve technological innovation and advancement of the manufacturing industry.” He also stated, “The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will closely communicate and cooperate with relevant ministries and the National AI Strategy Committee to promote an organic and highly effective manufacturing AX policy.”

Lim Moon-young, standing vice-chairman of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, said, “AI is a core technology that will change the very constitution of our companies, so in order for our country to leap forward as one of the top three AI powerhouses, it is most important to integrate AI with the expertise of each industrial domain.” He added, “With today’s MoU signing among the three ministries as an opportunity, we will form a manufacturing task force under the committee in the future to focus on supporting AI-based industrial transformation.”

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