Resolution, signed by entire ruling party, calls for combined South Korea-US efforts for economic security, North Korea's denuclearization
Rep. Kim Gunn of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday introduced a bill seeking to expand investment in the country's artificial intelligence and to boost innovation.
Kim said he proposed the bill to boost South Korea's competitiveness amid the accelerating global race for AI supremacy, particularly after Chinese startup DeepSeek sent shock waves through the tech community last week.
According to Kim, a relatively limited pool of AI experts is one of the main challenges facing South Korea in the sector.
While China has about 410,000 experts working in the AI industry and the US has about 200,000, South Korea has only some 20,000, according to Kim.
Kim said South Korea planned on investing 65 trillion won ($45 billion) between now and 2027, whereas the US plans to inject some 180 trillion won through 2030.
By existing law, tax exemptions have been limited to select fields such as semiconductors, secondary batteries and vaccines.
The bill proposed by Kim would extend tax exemptions to AI and cloud computing technologies, while offering more favorable tax credit rates to related research and development.
"The bill aims to help South Korea stay competitive and take the lead in AI," Kim said.
Also on Wednesday, Kim submitted a resolution for expanding South Korea-US cooperation in economic security based on the bilateral alliance.
The resolution also called for the continued joint commitment of South Korea and the US to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
The resolution, signed by all 108 People Power Party lawmakers, was chiefly authored by Kim.
