With artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a fiercely contested front in the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, Korea faces a growing dilemma. The country is caught between Washington's dominance in frontier AI technologies and China's growing presence in the consumer market with open-weight and open-source models. To explore how Korea should navigate this geopolitical landscape, The Korea Times hosted a roundtable titled “Beyond U.S.-China AI race: Korea’s strategic edge,” which included the country’s leading experts. Participants included Kim Sung-han, former national security adviser and Korea University professor emeritus; Reform Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jun-seok; Lim Jong-in, former presidential cybersecurity adviser and Soongsil University AI committee chair; and Bone AI CEO Lee Do-kyung. Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin moderated the discussion. Kim stressed that Korea should distinguish between consumer AI and technologies used for national security, calling for high-level consultations between Cheong Wa Dae and the White House to defi