Necessity, not niche: Korea, U.S. move to deregulate AI as policymakers prioritize it as vital strategic asset

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Necessity, not niche: Korea, U.S. move to deregulate AI as policymakers prioritize it as vital strategic asset

Published: 28 Jul. 2025, 15:55 Updated: 28 Jul. 2025, 20:17

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order regarding permitting for AI infrastructure after speaking during an AI summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23 in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea and the United States are laying the groundwork for the sweeping deregulation of AI, signaling a shift in how governments view the technology — not as a niche innovation, but as a strategic asset tied to national sovereignty in an increasingly globalized race.

U.S. deregulation drive

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new policy road map titled "America's AI Action Plan.” The plan outlines strategies to encourage innovation through deregulation, accelerate the construction of data centers, and expand AI technology exports to allies and partner nations.

The core message underpinning these measures is the removal of what administration officials described as “bureaucratic red tape” to facilitate AI development. Under the new framework, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will solicit input from both citizens and companies to identify existing federal rules that hinder AI development or deployment.

The Office of Management and Budget will also review all existing regulations, guidelines, and executive orders across federal agencies to revise or eliminate rules that it believes unnecessarily obstruct AI advancement.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attends the ″Winning the AI Race″ Summit in Washington on July 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Trump administration made clear it is prepared to throw its full weight behind AI infrastructure. The plan calls for relaxing environmental rules and unlocking access to federal land to facilitate the rapid construction of AI data centers. It also includes steps to diversify the national power grid, such as fast-tracking connections to new energy sources like nuclear fission and fusion.

What about Korea?

The Korean government, led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, is also stepping up efforts to ease AI regulations. On Thursday, Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon visited Naver’s Gak Sejong data center in Gyeonggi and held an on-site roundtable with representatives from leading companies, industry associations and academia.

AI industry leaders called on the government to address several longstanding barriers to building data centers — including licensing hurdles, power supply limitations and local opposition from nearby residents.

“There are excessive building regulations, like mandatory parking lots, even though data centers require very few on-site workers,” said Lee June-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS. “We need tailored standards that reflect the technical reality.”

NHN Cloud CEO Kim Dong-hoon pointed out that “the grid impact assessment required for new data centers is lengthy and complex, often taking more than six months.”

Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon delivers opening remarks during a meeting with tech executives on AI data centers held at Naver Cloud's Gak Sejong Data Center in Sejong on July 24. [MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

KT Cloud CEO Choi Ji-woong added that “digging below ground to construct a data center takes nearly three years, and permitting alone consumes around 16 months.”

Kakao Vice President Kim Se-woong also said that “tax incentives should be considered for land and building costs related to data centers.”

Minister Bae expressed a positive stance toward industry requests.

“We will actively consider them,” he said of the proposed regulatory relief. further warning that "If we fail to successfully build a domestic AI data center ecosystem, the entire Korean AI ecosystem could collapse."

“We’re not just talking about lifting regulations. We need to ensure an ecosystem where companies can expect returns on their investment,” Bae said.

What's the deal?

AI is no longer confined to tech companies or academic labs — it’s becoming a critical determinant of national power. Countries like the United States and China are investing billions of dollars to secure dominance, from fundamental research to large-scale infrastructure.

AI technologies are rapidly spreading across sectors, including national defense and security. As such, a nation’s AI capabilities are becoming inseparable from its sovereign competitiveness.

Korea has already pledged to become one of the world’s top three AI powers. To meet that goal, the government has committed to building a national AI “superhighway” and securing 50,000 high-performance GPUs, the backbone of modern AI systems.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM NAM-YOUNG [[email protected]]