Korean media: Masayoshi Son earnestly said, "South Korea has great potential in AI, but 'energy' is the decisive weakness."

¬ President Lee Jae-myung mentioned during his meeting: "The scale of data centers is too small... urgently need to obtain electricity," The presidential office: "Discuss energy cooperation with the U.S. and nuclear power... consider comprehensive policies such as SMR," and signed an agreement to establish an "ARM school"... cultivating 1,400 design talents at GIST

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and pointed out that the primary task for South Korea to rise as an AI power is "obtaining energy." He stated that although South Korea's chip and manufacturing capabilities are among the world's top levels, the power needed to drive AI is still far from sufficient.

On the 5th, Kim Yong-bum, Director of the Policy Office of the Presidential Office, revealed the content of the 70-minute meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and Masayoshi Son at a press conference, stating: "Chairman Masayoshi Son pointed out that the decisive weakness of South Korea is [energy]."

¬ "The data center plan is too small... without energy, ASI cannot be achieved"

That day, Son explained to President Lee Jae-myung the importance of four resources—energy, chips, data, and education—in dealing with the "ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence)" era. Son particularly pointed out: "After reviewing the data center construction plans released by South Korean companies, I found that their scale is too small compared to South Korea's vision and potential as an AI country." He mentioned projects like the "Interstellar Gate" in the U.S. at the GW level, saying: "Achieving ASI requires massive data centers, and the energy supporting them is indispensable."

Kim Yong-bum said: "Chairman Masayoshi Son believes that South Korea's AI technology or semiconductor (chip) is in a mature stage, but the weak link in the AI revolution is energy," and "he expressed concern about South Korea's geographical and structural difficulty in obtaining energy, similar to Japan."

¬ The presidential office: "Nuclear power is the core of investment in the U.S... publicize the establishment of new nuclear power plants"

The two sides discussed in conjunction with Son's "energy warning" and the direction of South Korea's energy policy. The presidential office pointed out that nuclear power is one of the levers for cooperation with the U.S. government. Regarding the "strategic investment fund for the U.S." mentioned by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Kim Yong-bum said: "Among the six key areas, energy is the first, and nuclear energy is the first item," and "nuclear energy is a strong point of South Korean companies and will become an important area of South Korea-U.S. cooperation."

Regarding South Korea's energy mix policy, he said: "The continued operation of existing nuclear power plants has been decided, and the issue of building new nuclear power plants will be addressed by the Ministry of Climate and Energy through public discussion to find solutions," implying consideration of various options such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR) to meet the growing AI electricity demand.

¬ Agreement to establish "ARM School" ... Cultivating 1,400 chip design talents

Along with the energy issue, the meeting also achieved results in "cultivating talents." President Lee Jae-myung, Chairman Masayoshi Son, and ARM representative René Haas reached an agreement to establish an "ARM School" (provisional name) in South Korea.

On that day, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ARM, deciding to cultivate approximately 1,400 professional chip design talents mainly at GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology). This move aims to enhance South Korea's competitiveness in system chips and Fabless (design) sectors, which are relatively weak compared to memory chips.

Chief Secretary of the AI Future Planning Office, Ha Jeong-woo, said: "The specific roadmap will be publicly announced at the chip strategy meeting in December," and "ARM's exclusive design IP (intellectual property) and educational secrets will become a huge asset for South Korean startups and researchers."

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: toutiao.com/article/1850653610171403/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."