South Korea to spend 4.7 trillion won on frontier AI while keeping Dokpamo
Version 2: Additional outlets, including Kukmin Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun, reported the government's AI plan, with no new facts beyond the earlier accounts.
In short
The government plans to invest 4.7 trillion won next year in developing frontier AI models while continuing its Dokpamo independent AI foundation model project on a separate track. Dokpamo's third evaluation in February 2027 will still select two final teams and the planned fourth round of support will proceed, and the science ministry said the Frontier AI project will not stop or replace Dokpamo. Details of Frontier AI, including who will carry it out and how private investors take part, are not yet decided.
Read the full story 3 min read
The government plans to invest 4.7 trillion won next year in developing frontier artificial intelligence while continuing its independent AI foundation model project, Dokpamo, on a separate track. Kukmin Ilbo reported the move as a turn in the national AI project after the “Mythos shock”, Newsis described a two-track bet, Asia Economy reported the 4.7 trillion won figure with Dokpamo running in parallel, and Seoul Shinmun reported a two-track reorganisation with 4.7 trillion won in equity investment. In a later report, Kukmin Ilbo said Dokpamo alone was not enough. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and ICT, set out the plan at a briefing for reporters on Oct. 2 at the National Information Society Agency in Seoul, ZDNet Korea and Bloter reported. Ryu said Dokpamo's goal had been raised to frontier-level model development and that models already built through the project should be used more widely in industry, describing the change as a conversion to two tracks. He also said the project had been presented from the start as a “moving target” whose goals and evaluation methods would be adjusted as AI technology changed. [ 3 , 5 ]
The ministry said Dokpamo's third-stage evaluation would go ahead in February 2027, selecting two final teams, and that the originally planned fourth round of support would continue. Bloter reported that the third evaluation keeps the existing format of choosing two from three elite teams, with scoring details to be finalised with participating companies, and ZDNet Korea reported the ministry would collect confirmation letters once the criteria were fixed. Asia Economy reported that Dokpamo would proceed as planned while benefits would be spread to smaller companies and startups rather than concentrated on particular firms. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Frontier AI is a separate new project rather than a replacement for Dokpamo, with the implementing entity to be selected through a separate public contest and an equity investment approach adopted, Bloter reported. The ministry said confusion had arisen while explaining how the two projects relate, adding that they would not be carried out in complete isolation from each other. ZDNet Korea reported that Frontier AI's details remain largely undecided, including the implementing body, the composition of private investors and the investment method, with a special-purpose company among the options under review. [ 3 , 5 ]
Ryu said the review began after the April release of what ZDNet Korea identified as Anthropic's “Claude Mythos Preview”, which Bloter described as hitting the global market. Ryu said the ministry gathered views from companies and experts between April and mid-June and found agreement that the dimension of global AI competition had changed and Dokpamo's existing scale was insufficient to respond. Bloter reported Ryu cited about 80 institutions and 130 AI specialists that took part through two rounds of consortiums, and said the evaluator Artificial Analysis described Korea after the August second evaluation as having among the strongest AI models and deepest ecosystems outside the United States and China; Ryu also mentioned the 2024 Stanford AI Index report, in which Korea recorded no major AI models. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Bloter reported that the government budget proposal announced on Sept. 1 included the 4.7 trillion won plan, and that Ryu said government-purchased GPU resources amount to about 29,000 units converted to the B200 standard. An allocation plan is to be finalised by year-end through a meeting of relevant ministers, concentrating the computing resources on frontier model development while also supporting ecosystem expansion, including for startups and smaller companies. [ 5 ]
Industry had speculated that Dokpamo was effectively ending once the Frontier AI plan was announced, partly because Dokpamo's target of matching at least 95% of the performance of the latest global models overlaps with frontier-level model work, ZDNet Korea reported. The ministry denied that Dokpamo was being stopped or replaced. ZDNet Korea reported that how predictable the rules are for participating companies, and how policy trust is secured, remain tasks for the government. [ 3 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The government is putting 4.7 trillion won in next year's budget behind a frontier model programme it describes as necessary because AI has become a national strategic asset, alongside continued support for domestic foundation models and about 29,000 B200-equivalent GPUs it has purchased. How the money and computing resources are allocated, and how predictable the rules are for participating companies, will shape whether Korea's AI firms can compete at the top level. The design of the new project remains largely open.
Key facts
- The government plans to invest 4.7 trillion won next year in developing frontier AI while continuing the Dokpamo project in parallel. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Dokpamo's third-stage evaluation in February 2027 will select two final teams from three, and the originally planned fourth round of support will proceed. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The science ministry said Frontier AI is a separate new project and does not stop or replace Dokpamo. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and ICT, presented the two-track plan at a briefing for reporters on Oct. 2 at the National Information Society Agency in Seoul. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Frontier AI's implementing entity is to be chosen through a separate public contest, while the project's detailed design is still undecided. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Government-purchased GPU resources amount to about 29,000 units converted to the B200 standard, with an allocation plan to be finalised by year-end. [ 5 ]
- The review that led to the overhaul followed the April release of “Mythos Preview”, with consultations held from April to mid-June. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The government plans to put 4.7 trillion won into frontier AI development next year. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Dokpamo continues and is not stopped or replaced by the Frontier AI project. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Dokpamo's third evaluation in February 2027 will select two final teams as originally planned. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and ICT, set out the plan at an Oct. 2 briefing in Seoul. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Frontier AI is a separate project from Dokpamo, with an implementing entity to be chosen through a separate public contest. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Dokpamo will proceed as planned while benefits are widened to smaller companies and startups rather than concentrated on particular firms. [ 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- The detailed design of the Frontier AI project, including the implementing body, private investor composition and investment method. ZDNet Korea reported these elements still have to be specified; a special-purpose company is among the options under review but no structure has been decided.
- How closely Dokpamo and Frontier AI will be linked in practice. The ministry said the two would not be run in complete isolation and that confusion arose while explaining this, but no specifics were given.
- Whether Dokpamo was effectively ending. This was speculation in the industry after the Frontier AI plan was announced, and the ministry denied it.
- The exact scoring and evaluation criteria for Dokpamo's third round. ZDNet Korea and Bloter reported that the criteria and weightings are still being discussed with participating companies and have not been finalised.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kukmin Ilbo reports that the government is turning its national AI project toward frontier AI development with 4.7 trillion won after the “Mythos shock”. [ 1 ]
- Newsis reports the government's two-track AI plan covering both domestic AI and the 4.7 trillion won frontier AI project, and ZDNet Korea publishes its Q&A on the Dokpamo project and the separately pursued Frontier AI plan. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Asia Economy reports that the government will put 4.7 trillion won into frontier AI development next year, with Dokpamo run in parallel. [ 4 ]
- Bloter reports that Dokpamo's third evaluation keeps selecting two of three elite teams and that the developer of the frontier-level model will be chosen through a separate public contest. [ 5 ]
- Asia Economy publishes a comprehensive report on the plan. [ 6 ]
- Kukmin Ilbo reports that Dokpamo alone is not enough, with the government putting 4.7 trillion won into frontier AI development. [ 7 ]
- Seoul Shinmun reports the two-track reorganisation of the national AI project and a push for 4.7 trillion won in equity investment in Frontier AI. [ 8 ]