The results of the survey showed that the Korean government's self-praise, which shouted, "Korea ran..

The results of the survey showed that the Korean government's self-praise, which shouted, "Korea ranks third in global artificial intelligence (AI)," was embarrassing. The industry is concerned that global big tech-level AI innovation such as AI agents will not be possible for the time being in Korea unless the lack of investment and talent improves.

According to the information and communication technology (ICT) industry on the 11th, a recent report released by global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) classified Korea as an AI steady competitor rather than a leading group, an AI leader.

In a report that evaluated the current status of AI introduction in 73 countries around the world and analyzed the potential for economic development based on AI technology in the country, Korea remained in the "second tier" behind major countries.

Five AI leaders classified by BCG included the United States, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and China. BCG evaluated, "Only these five countries have shown a high level of readiness for AI." South Korea is grouped into the same groups as Australia, Finland, France, Germany, etc.

This is quite different from the existing British Todus Media rankings cited by our government. The government has insisted that "there is no significant difference in the top three groups, including Korea, after the top-ranked United States and second-ranked China," referring to the ranking.

Industry analysts say BCG's cold assessment of Korea is a natural result given the reality of Korea's AI industry, which is far behind major global countries.

According to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the U.S. accounted for 62% of the global AI investment, which amounted to 141.9 billion dollars last year, with 87.42 billion dollars. The European Union (EU) followed with $13.49 billion (about 19.323 trillion won) and China with $12.18 billion (about 16.1574 trillion won). On the other hand, Korea accounted for 1.5 to 2% of the global AI investment with about 2 billion dollars to 3 billion dollars (about 2.86 trillion won to 4.3 trillion won). Compared to the United States, it is only one-thirtieth of the size.

The same goes for researchers. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Planning and Evaluation (KISTEP), the number of AI researchers in Korea stood at 21,000 as of the end of last year, which is only one-tenth of that of China, which recorded 41,000.