Korea will launch a state-backed project next year to develop a frontier artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of competing with leading Chinese open-source models, with the government planning to make 4.7 trillion won ($3.48 billion) of equity investment in what could be a special purpose company involving the country’s top AI model developers. During a press conference Friday, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Je-myung also said the ongoing national AI foundation model project, which drew significant attention as a competition to develop Korea’s most capable homegrown AI model, will proceed as planned, but its focus will shift toward models tailored to specific industries and real-world applications. "The frontier AI project will begin next year," he said. "It will be reflected in next year's budget, and we will pursue a higher goal by breaking through current technological limitations." He said the government and domestic companies both shared views that the global competition for advanced AI models has entered a completely different phase since the preview of Clau