[ROUNDTABLE] Korea's blueprint: Become indispensable player in AI world

In the ongoing global race for artificial intelligence supremacy, South Korea should aspire to become an indispensable partner to the United States and China, rather than merely attempting to keep pace with the cutting-edge technologies being developed by these superpowers, according to experts gathered for a roundtable discussion titled "Beyond US-China AI race: Korea's strategic edge."

The panel of experts emphasized that Korea could carve out a unique niche in the global AI landscape by capitalizing on its strengths in manufacturing, industrial expertise, and an advanced semiconductor supply chain. Furthermore, building robust AI infrastructure could deepen Korea's strategic importance to the U.S. and its allies.

Lee Do-kyung, the founder and CEO of Bone AI, proposed transforming South Korea into a "forward-deployed industrial base" for the U.S. and its allies. By merging American technologies with Korea's manufacturing prowess, the nation could produce, deploy, and maintain AI-powered systems in the Indo-Pacific region. Lee highlighted the critical importance of this strategy, stating that a single motor failure in a drone could render it inoperable, and the U.S. mainland could take three to four months to deliver replacement parts by sea.