Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
SKT, KT, Kakao consortiums selected for free AI service for public
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, center, poses with participants during a ceremony on the government's "AI for All" project in Gwangju, Aug. 3. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Naver's absence raises questions on accessibility
The government on Friday selected three consortiums, each led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao, as the operators of the “AI for All” project, which will provide unlimited access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services for all Koreans without any fees.
The Ministry of Science and ICT chose the three consortiums from six applicants following an evaluation of their service plans and technological capabilities. The selected operators will receive a combined 512 Nvidia B200 graphics processing units from the government this year and, from 2027, will receive government support for part of the costs required to provide the service nationwide.
The project is aimed at developing public AI services based on Korean AI models. The selected operators will be required to use both their own models and those developed by other companies to provide general-purpose AI chatbot services, as well as public and specialized AI agents.
The ministry plans to sign agreements with the three operators in September and officially launch the AI for All service by the end of this year following a beta service period. It did not disclose the applicants’ evaluation scores or rankings at their request.
The SK Telecom consortium involves companies and institutions including Liner, Shinhan Card, Hana Card, Tmap Mobility, SK Broadband, Persona AI, Elice Group, Goodoc, Soundable Health, Nota and Selectstar.
It will mainly use its self-developed A.X K2 large language model, built with 688 billion parameters as part of the government's separate sovereign foundation model project. The consortium will also use Solar Open 2 developed by Upstage AI, Motif 3 by Motif Technologies and K-EXAONE 2.0 by LG AI Research.
KT’s consortium includes major companies and institutions such as Rebellions, Upstage AI, Motif Technologies, Daum, Musinsa, BC Card, Zigbang and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System.
The consortium will mainly use KT’s Mi:dm K Pro 2.5 model, along with Solar Pro 4 developed by Upstage AI and Motif 3 by Motif Technologies. The consortium plans to place AI access points across Daum’s portal and app, as well as on partner platforms such as Danawa, Musinsa and Zigbang.
Kakao’s consortium includes Lunit, Seoul National University Hospital, Shinhan Bank, LG AI Research, LG CNS, LG Uplus, LG Electronics and FuriosaAI. The consortium will use models including Kakao’s Kanana, LG AI Research’s EXAONE and K-EXAONE 2.0.
Kakao plans to use its messenger service as the main entry point, allowing users to access general-purpose chatbot functions and AI agents through a single integrated service.
Meanwhile, Naver, Korea’s largest mobile platform operator, did not participate in the AI for All project. The company said it considered joining but ultimately decided to focus on its existing AI businesses.
Naver has its own foundation model, HyperCLOVA X, but was reportedly concerned that the project’s tight timeline and requirements, including the mandatory use of models developed by other companies, would offer limited returns compared to the investment it has to make for the project. The company is also already providing free AI services through its own platforms.
Naver was eliminated in January from the government’s national foundation model project, which serves as the foundation for other government-led AI service and model initiatives.
At the time, the company was excluded due to questions over HyperCLOVA X’s data independence rather than its technological capabilities. However, the decision subsequently fueled market doubts over Naver’s AI competitiveness.
Against this backdrop, Naver appears to have taken a more cautious approach to joining another government-led AI project, where another setback could add to concerns over its AI capabilities.