President Lee says AI represents 'decisive opportunity' for South Korea amid global civilizational shift

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the government's move to tighten penalties on companies for personal data breaches reflects "a clear policy of the South Korean government" and is not directed at any specific company, adding that it is being carried out "in accordance with the law and established policy."

Lee made the remarks while presiding over policy briefings by the Ministry of Science and ICT (including the Korea AeroSpace Administration), the Korea Communications Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbingwan. He said he hoped officials would "explain this point thoroughly."

During the session, Lee said fines for personal data leaks must be raised substantially to compel companies to take data protection seriously, noting that penalties had recently increased as a result. He added that some companies appeared to be claiming they were being "singled out as a target."

The remarks were widely seen as directed at Coupang Inc, whose massive personal data breach has in effect escalated into a source of friction between South Korea and the United States.

In response, Personal Information Protection Commission Chairwoman Song Gyeong-hui said the commission "focuses strictly on violations of the law and issues rulings impartially and fairly, regardless of the country, company or institution involved."

Lee also said South Korea could become "not a follower but an outstanding leader" in the technological transformation driven by AI, provided it leverages its strengths and addresses its weaknesses. "I believe AI is on the level of the invention of fire, the steam engine and electricity," he said.

He said the world is facing "a civilizational shift driven by AI" and framed the AI era as an opportunity for competition among nations.

"This is a race to see who prepares first, and the competition between countries is fierce," Lee said. "I believe this is a decisive opportunity for us. An opportunity left unused can become yet another crisis."

Lee also linked recent improvements in economic indicators to competitiveness in advanced industries. "South Korea's economic growth rate has been sharply revised upward from 1.9 percent to 2.6 percent, and next year's projected growth rate of 2.5 percent is among the highest of any major advanced economy," he said, adding that results were beginning to show in the high-tech sector.

On the research and development budget cuts under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, Lee said recovery had taken considerable time but that significant results had been achieved. He added that the government had recently attracted large-scale private investment in advanced technology industries in line with its policy direction.

"We have announced a new vision that will astonish not only South Korea but the entire world, and it is also our responsibility to make that vision a reality," he added.

The remarks appeared to reference the Lee administration's "three mega-projects," an initiative the government has been pushing hard.

Last month, Lee launched the initiative with a national presentation on the "Three Mega-Projects for South Korea's Great Leap Forward," then traveled in turn to the Honam (southwestern), Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions to personally unveil region-specific visions for advanced industry development.

The plan envisions a semiconductor cluster worth 800 trillion won ($537 billion) for the Honam region, AI data centers and advanced industries for the Chungcheong region, and a manufacturing-based physical AI industry for the Yeongnam region — with the aim of breaking the Greater Seoul-centered concentration of growth and diversifying the country's economic development axes.

Thursday's Ministry of Science and ICT briefing was largely a follow-up discussion aimed at supporting these mega-projects.

The briefings had originally been scheduled in the order of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Communications Commission and then the Personal Information Protection Commission, but Lee changed the order, starting with the Personal Information Protection Commission.

Meanwhile, Lee urged the Korea Communications Commission to "do its job well as a regulatory body" in addressing the spread of false and fabricated information being exploited for private gain, used as a tool of political attack, or deployed to stoke social division and conflict.