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Top AI policymakers meet with AMD chief, discuss national AI infrastructure

Published: 19 Mar. 2026, 18:38 Updated: 19 Mar. 2026, 19:42

Senior presidential secretary for AI future planning Ha Jung-woo, left, and Presidential Council on National AI Strategy Vice Chair Im Moon-young are seen during a meeting with AMD CEO Lisa Su at the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 19. [MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

Korea’s top AI policymakers met AMD CEO Lisa Su on Thursday to expand cooperation in AI between the Korean government and AMD, as Seoul pushes to build a large-scale national AI infrastructure.

Senior presidential secretary for AI future planning Ha Jung-woo and Presidential Council on National AI Strategy Vice Chair Im Moon-young held talks with Su at the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology in Jongno District, central Seoul.

AMD, a leading global graphics processing unit maker competing with Nvidia, plays a critical role in AI model development.

Seoul used the meeting to pitch its so-called top three in AI strategy, an initiative that aims for Korea to be elevated to among the top three countries in AI technology. The strategy is centered on a plan of building state-led infrastructure.

Part of the strategy is an "AI highway," a government-led initiative to build infrastructure including GPUs, hyperscale data centers and ultra-high-speed networks, which companies can then build on.

The concept aims to lower entry barriers for companies in the private sector by providing shared infrastructure for private-sector AI development.

To support the push, the government has earmarked 9.9 trillion won ($6.6 billion) for AI this year — about three times last year’s budget.

Su's visit to Korea this time comes amid a number of partnerships between AMD and Korean tech firms.

AMD CEO Lisa Su, far left, senior presidential secretary for AI future planning Ha Jung-woo, second from right, and Presidential Council on National AI Strategy Vice Chair Im Moon-young, far right, are seen during a meeting at the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology in Jongno District, central Seoul on March 19. [MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

This visit to Korea has further strengthened AMD's cooperation with local AI companies, Su said during the meeting with Ha and Im.

On Wednesday, Su visited Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek campus and met Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, where the two business heads agreed to cooperate on graphics memory.

Su also met Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon on Wednesday and signed a memorandum of understanding to build a high-performance computing environment using AMD GPUs for Naver’s AI model, HyperCLOVA X.

In the same regard, Korean policymakers agreed to broaden public-private collaboration on AI development through AMD’s open AI ecosystem. Ha, Im and Su also discussed regional AI transformation, including data center development, as part of efforts to promote balanced growth.

Talks also covered talent development and joint research tied to the Korean government’s “K-Moonshot” AI initiative. The initiative refers to a research and development innovation program to solve national challenges in eight key fields, including advanced bio, physical AI and space and quantum, using AI technology, by 2035.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]