South Korea rolls out free national AI chatbot and expands AI‑focused education

The Korean government announced the “All of AI” project, a free AI chatbot service for all citizens. The Ministry of Science and ICT will select 2‑3 private firms by August, provide each with up to 256 Nvidia B200 GPUs, and launch a beta version by late September, followed by a full release before year‑end. The service will also include a public AI assistant that can recommend and help apply for government services.

As part of the 2026 vocational‑school restructuring, four of ten selected vocational high‑school programs will incorporate “AI” into their department names, covering fields such as AI mechanics, AI fintech, AI beauty‑tech and AI animation. By 2028, about 76 % of vocational programmes are expected to be revised, with curriculum changes that add AI‑related courses.

In parallel, the administration is accelerating three “mega‑projects” centered on semiconductors, AI data centres and physical AI. It plans to invest roughly 800 trillion won in a south‑west semiconductor cluster and 550 trillion won in AI data‑centre infrastructure, while expanding the Korea Investment Corporation into a comprehensive sovereign‑wealth fund. The same meeting also formalised a review of additional nuclear power plants and small‑modular reactors for inclusion in the upcoming 12th electricity‑supply plan.