finance minister-Korea-AI
Finance minister stresses commitment to making S. Korea global AI hub
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on Thursday underscored his commitment to making South Korea a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI), pointing to international organizations' plans to install their key AI platforms in the Asian country.
Koo, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, met with South Korean correspondents in Washington as he was in the U.S. capital to attend meetings of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors at a time when the world is grappling with the economic repercussions of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Stressing the push to make South Korea an AI hub, Koo said that the World Bank has established its own AI hub in Korea, and that six U.N. agencies, along with the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, are seeking to build their own hubs in Korea.
He added that South Korea plans to request that the International Monetary Fund and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development consider establishing their AI hubs in Korea as well.
South Korea' Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol speaks during a meeting with reporters in Arlington, Virginia, on April 16, 2026. (Yonhap)
Koo pointed out that the South Korean industry should focus on AI memory chips, high-bandwidth memory chips for computing and inference, and sensor chips among others, while anticipating that once the war in the Middle East ends, the Korean economy's AI transition will proceed rapidly.
He also said that it is more desirable for South Korea to focus on developing small language AI models and apply them to ships, cars and home appliances, given that Korea may find it difficult to stay competitive in large language models -- an area which the United States has taken the lead.
Moreover, the minister presented AI as a solution to address the G20's two key agenda items -- growth and imbalances -- given that the technology would help enhance work efficiency and contribute to the global economy.
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