Kim Yong-beom, South Korea's Presidential Policy Chief, proposed an 'AI Basic Society' vision in a Facebook post on the 21st, positioning artificial intelligence as production infrastructure accessible to all citizens rather than merely an industry to nurture. Kim stated AI service usage has reached two out of three South Koreans, with generative AI users surpassing 20 million, but diagnosed that major sectors like healthcare, education, and government remain 'locked markets' awaiting regulatory clarity and demonstrated demand. The proposal redefines the state's role as organizing markets by removing entry barriers rather than directly controlling or producing AI services, leveraging South Korea's semiconductor capabilities and 50-million-person testing ground to accelerate AI adoption across public and private domains.
Kim Diagnoses Locked AI Markets in Key Sectors
Kim wrote that while AI adoption has grown rapidly among consumers, the largest potential markets remain inaccessible. He stated, "The place where AI assists hospital treatment, enters school classrooms, and handles government civil complaints — that is, where AI shares work that people used to judge and take responsibility for — that enormous market has not yet opened in earnest." Kim characterized this as "not an empty market, but a locked market," explaining that hospitals wait for deregulation, regulatory authorities wait for successful cases, and companies wait for clear demand, creating a standstill where "if everyone just waits like that, nothing starts."
State Role Redefined as Market Organizer
The policy chief outlined a new framework for state intervention, writing that "the state does not replace the market, but only helps cross the threshold that the market cannot overcome alone and then steps back." Kim emphasized that "making, selling, and using AI remains with the market, but the state only takes on the task of weaving together scattered conditions to open locked doors." He positioned this approach as distinct from both production-focused and control-focused state models, stating, "The state in the AI era is neither a producing state nor a controlling state. It is a state that organizes markets."
AI for All Initiative Targets Market Expansion
Kim presented the government's 'AI for All' initiative as the core implementation of this organizing role. He explained the policy provides free domestic AI to citizens and constructs public AI agents to expand market access. Kim stated, "If free AI is a policy that lays the foundation by rooting AI in daily life, the public agent is a policy that opens the market on that foundation," adding that "the side that truly opens the market is this one." The initiative aims to create demand signals that unlock private sector investment in healthcare, education, and government AI applications.
AI Basic Society Concept Emphasizes Production Infrastructure
Kim defined 'AI Basic Society' as guaranteeing minimum computing resources to all citizens, distinguishing it from cash welfare programs. He wrote, "It is different from welfare that distributes cash. If cash adds the power to consume, computing adds the power to produce." Kim likened the approach to "not giving fish or teaching fishing, but making sure everyone holds a fishing rod," stating that "the market organized in this way leads to a society where more people not only use AI but also participate in making it. That is the AI Basic Society." He framed AI access as a basic right, stating, "Access to AI must now be viewed as a basic right," and that "ensuring no citizen is excluded from that door is the state's responsibility." Kim concluded by noting South Korea possesses world-class memory semiconductors, AI model development capacity, and a 50-million-person testing stage, adding, "In the AI era, the state's job is not to make the beads but to string them together."
FAQ
What did Kim Yong-beom propose on the 21st regarding AI policy?
Kim Yong-beom proposed an 'AI Basic Society' vision in a Facebook post on the 21st, positioning AI as production infrastructure accessible to all citizens and redefining the state's role as organizing markets rather than controlling or producing AI services directly.
Why does Kim describe major AI markets as locked rather than empty?
Kim stated that hospitals wait for deregulation, regulatory authorities wait for successful cases, and companies wait for clear demand, creating a standstill where AI cannot enter healthcare, education, and government sectors despite high potential, making these markets locked rather than empty.
What is the AI for All initiative announced by Kim Yong-beom?
The AI for All initiative provides free domestic AI to South Korean citizens and constructs public AI agents to expand market access, aiming to create demand signals that unlock private sector investment in healthcare, education, and government AI applications.
