Prime minister vows to accelerate public-sector AI transition, develop Korean AI exposure index

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Thursday called for building an "AI democratic government" that puts citizens at the center of governance in the age of artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the 11th National Policy Coordination Meeting at the Government Seoul Building, Han said AI "is no longer confined to the realm of technology or industry" but is now driving fundamental changes in how people work and live.

"The government also wants to change in step with these shifts," she said, announcing plans to roll out "OnAI" — an AI-based internal administrative system — to 47 central government agencies by year's end to accelerate the public sector's AI transition.

She directed ministries to continuously open up 100 high-demand, high-utility core public datasets so that anyone can use them with ease, and instructed the Ministry of Interior and Safety and other relevant ministries to brief the public on specific implementation plans as soon as possible.

The meeting also took up the government's forthcoming "Basic Plan for Employment Stability amid Industrial Transition."

Han said the AI transformation and the shift to carbon neutrality are paths the country must take, adding that the journey "must move in a direction that expands everyone's potential and opens new opportunities."

She pledged to develop a Korean-style AI exposure index to proactively monitor signals of industrial and employment change, and said the government would expand vocational training support, including through the Tomorrow Learning Card program.

Han also noted that South Korea is set to undergo an international aviation safety audit at the end of this year, calling it "an important opportunity to have our aviation safety system re-examined against international standards."

She urged the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, together with the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Fire Agency, the Korea Coast Guard and other related agencies, to thoroughly review the entire safety management framework — from regulatory improvements and accident prevention to on-site management and post-incident response — "so that everyone can feel safe at aviation sites."

Turning to the monsoon season now under way, Han said heavy rain was falling across the country but that she had been briefed that no flood-related casualties had been reported so far.

She noted that more heavy rain was forecast for Thursday and called on the Ministry of Interior and Safety, other related ministries and local governments to check once more on facilities and on-site response systems in areas at high risk of damage.

Han said that if the first year of the Lee Jae-myung administration was a period of normalization, the second year must be one of delivering "visible and tangible results" to the public, vowing that the government would create new possibilities amid change and proactively manage risks and uncertainties.