[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] Leading domestic ICT (Information and Communications Technology) companies have rallied in full force for the government’s “AI for All” initiative, which aims to bridge the AI adoption gap among all citizens and make AI a common part of daily life. Mobile carriers such as SKTelecom(017670) and KTCorporation(030200), along with a coalition of Kakao and LG Corp., have each formed large-scale consortia to compete for the project. Naver chose not to participate, citing a need to focus on its existing businesses.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and industry sources on the 19th, a total of six operators (consortia) submitted proposals in response to the call for participation in the “AI for All” project, led by the MSIT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). The MSIT plans to select two to three final operators by the end of this month following written and presentation evaluations, and aims to launch beta services and begin full-scale operations within the year.

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon emphasized during a presidential briefing last month that “AI for All” would be launched within this year. As part of this initiative, the Ministry aims to usher in an era of “one AI agent per person” next year.

SKT, 1000만 사용자 '에이닷' 넘어 생활 에이전트로

Leveraging its “full-stack” capabilities—encompassing AI models, infrastructure, and services—SKT has formed a consortium with 20 companies and institutions, the largest such group in the initiative.

SKT will combine its operational expertise from ‘A.dot,’ which boasts 10 million monthly active users (MAU), with its recently unveiled proprietary AI model ‘A.X K2’—featuring 688 billion parameters—and the infrastructure of ‘SK Hyper,’ a dedicated AI data center subsidiary established last month. The strategy is to dramatically lower the barrier to AI adoption by leveraging approximately 22.5 million mobile lines and online and offline customer touchpoints.

The SKT consortium includes Shinhan Card and Hana Card (finance), Tmap Mobility (mobility), Liner (specialized search), GoodDoc (healthcare), Nota Inc. and SelectStar (infrastructure), and Aim Intelligence (security). The plan is to start with simple Q&A-style AI chatbots and expand into “lifestyle-oriented Agent AI” that handles actual tasks, ranging from issuing public documents to making and paying for appointments in healthcare, transportation, and finance.

KTCorporation Joins Forces with Upstage, Motif, and NCAI to Build a “One-Stop AI Ecosystem Alliance”

Under the slogan “AI Benefits for All, Together with Korea’s AI,” KTCorporation unveiled a 16-company consortium that connects the entire process—from AI services to platforms and infrastructure. Leveraging KTCorporation’s unrivaled expertise in operating telecommunications, cloud, and AI infrastructure, the consortium prioritizes service stability above all else.

The KTCorporation consortium’s service portfolio includes a large number of leading companies closely tied to people’s daily lives, such as Daum, SALTLUX Inc., Musinsa, Zigbang, EBS, BC Card, and DeepSearch. In the model and platform sectors, companies such as Upstage, Motif Technologies, NC AI, and Action Power are participating to provide proprietary model technologies, while the infrastructure sector is handled by Rebellion—a leading AI semiconductor startup—along with LabUp and Vessel AI Korea.

As the lead organization, KTCorporation plans to share its extensive experience in operating large-scale services and contribute to the revitalization of an AI ecosystem that encompasses all aspects of life, including search, shopping, housing, education, and finance.

Kakao Forms a Strong “One Team” with LG Corp.… The Convergence of KakaoTalk’s User Base and “K-ExaOne”

Kakao has expressed a strong determination to secure the project through its alliance with LG Corp. The consortium includes a total of 15 companies and institutions, including four core LG Corp. affiliates: LG Uplus, LG AI Research, LGELECTRONICS, and LG CNS.

Kakao will fully leverage its overwhelming user reach through KakaoTalk, the nation’s most popular messaging app, along with its proprietary model “Kanana” and the experience gained from the “AI National Secretary” project developed in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. LG AI Research will provide its proprietary large language model (LLM) “K-ExaOne,” while LGELECTRONICS will handle integration with home devices and LG CNS will manage public system integration (SI), thereby enhancing the technology’s completeness.

Additionally, Seoul National University Hospital and Lunit Inc. in the healthcare sector, Shinhan Bank in the financial sector, and FuriosaAI in the NPU sector are participating to create universal AI services that anyone can easily use, regardless of age, income, or digital literacy.

Why Did Naver Opt Out? … Prioritizing Collaboration with Big Tech

There are various interpretations within the industry regarding Naver’s absence, despite having been initially considered a leading candidate. This decision is seen as a strategic move related to Naver’s business portfolio management and resource allocation.

Naver is already simultaneously advancing the enhancement of its own AI services based on the hyper-scale AI “HyperClova X” while pursuing “Sovereign AI” collaboration projects with global technology companies such as NVIDIA. Rather than diverting limited development personnel and core resources to a new government initiative, the company has prioritized strengthening the technological competitiveness of its existing core businesses.

An IT industry insider analyzed, “From the perspective of a company like Naver, which has already secured a robust ecosystem of proprietary services and independent technological capabilities, it likely judged that the additional business and technical benefits to be gained from participating in a government-led platform project would be relatively small.”

In addition, ESTsoft Corp., a mid-sized IT company, has thrown its hat into the ring by forming a consortium with eight other firms, including Megazone, WISEnut, Inc., and Polaris Office. Separately, companies such as Xenon, which has been actively involved in the public AI (AX) sector, and MKD, which provides B2B AI services, submitted applications independently.

An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “This project was prepared to introduce Korea’s flagship AI services that allow citizens to experience AI technology in their daily lives and trust and use them.”