Introduction
On February 5, 2025, South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mok announced that South Korea plans to become the world's third-largest AI power, trying to catch up with the United States and China. He mentioned that the rapid rise of AI startup DeepSeek has brought a "strong impact" to the Korean AI market. In order to address this challenge, the South Korean government has decided to establish a "National AI Committee" and increase investment in AI technology. With the rapid development of DeepSeek, this goal is not only a strategic adjustment, but also a major reflection on South Korea's positioning in the global AI competitive landscape.
The rise of DeepSeek's technology
As a dark horse in China's AI field, DeepSeek has quickly gained a place in the global AI market with its technological innovation. Especially when it comes to training and optimizing large-scale language models (LLMs), DeepSeek has demonstrated its powerful technical advantages. Its DeepSeek R1 model has demonstrated capabilities comparable to or even surpassed the world's mainstream AI models in tasks such as natural language processing, inference computation, and code generation.
Ⅰ. Performance advantages: The DeepSeek R1 model outperforms mainstream AI systems in multiple benchmarks. For example, DeepSeek R1 is twice as fast as ChatGPT in terms of programming tasks, while providing a more accurate solution. This achievement shows that DeepSeek is not only highly recognized in the academic community, but also shows great potential in commercial applications.
Ⅱ. Technological innovation: DeepSeek adopts a hybrid expert (MoE) architecture and reinforcement learning (RLHF), which gives it a clear competitive advantage in computing efficiency and data processing capabilities. This technological innovation reduces the cost of computing power, enabling DeepSeek to exert powerful performance even in low- and medium-to-medium computing environments, providing new possibilities for the popularization of AI around the world.
Ⅲ. Market penetration: At present, DeepSeek's user base has spread all over the world, especially in the Korean market, the number of DeepSeek users has reached 1.21 million, closely following ChatGPT. Its influence continues to expand, and it is also quietly changing the competitive landscape of the market.
Challenges and opportunities for the Korean AI industry
With the rise of DeepSeek, South Korea's AI industry is facing unprecedented challenges and potential opportunities.
(1) Challenges
Technological shortcomings: Although South Korea has a deep accumulation of semiconductor and electronic technology, there is still a certain gap in the field of AI, especially in the development of natural language processing and large-scale models. DeepSeek's technological breakthrough has undoubtedly put pressure on local AI companies in South Korea. Korean companies need to increase R&D investment to bridge the gap with leading international technologies.
Market share erosion: DeepSeek's technological superiority and market penetration have rapidly impacted South Korea's AI market. Local Korean companies have to face strong competitive pressure from Chinese AI companies. If no swift response is taken, South Korea's share of AI in the domestic market will be further reduced.
Competition for talent: Competition in the field of AI is ultimately a competition for talent. Globally, companies such as DeepSeek are attracting a large number of top AI researchers and engineers, and South Korea still has shortcomings in cultivating and attracting high-end AI talent. If the problem of brain drain cannot be effectively addressed, it will be difficult for South Korea to gain an edge in the global AI competition.
Pictured: South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mu has announced that South Korea plans to become the world's third-largest AI powerhouse
(2) Opportunities
Despite the challenges, there are still many opportunities in the field of AI in South Korea:
Policy support: The South Korean government has long recognized the strategic position of AI technology in the future economy. To this end, South Korea plans to invest tens of billions of dollars to promote the development of AI technology. By establishing a "National AI Committee" and formulating relevant policies, the government will provide policy guarantees and financial support for the rapid development of the domestic AI industry.
Industrial foundation: South Korea has a world-leading technological level in semiconductors, electronic products and other fields, which provides a strong foundation for hardware support for AI technology. South Korea can leverage its advantages in the semiconductor field to accelerate the development of AI chips and hardware, reduce the overall cost of AI technology, and improve the market competitiveness of local AI companies.
International cooperation: South Korea has an important position in international AI cooperation. The world's top AI companies such as OpenAI have expressed strong interest in the Korean market, and several Korean technology companies are working with OpenAI and others to promote the further development of AI technology. By strengthening international cooperation, South Korea will be able to gain more opportunities in terms of technology and market applications.
South Korea's response strategy
In order to meet the challenges of DeepSeek and strive to become one of the three global AI powerhouses, the Korean government and companies are taking a series of countermeasures.
(1) Increase policy investment
The South Korean government has pledged to invest heavily in the AI industry, and it is expected that by 2027, the government will invest about 34 trillion won to support the development of high-tech industries, including AI. In addition, the government plans to further encourage innovation and market expansion in the AI industry by setting up special funds and providing tax incentives.
(2) Strengthen technology research and development and personnel training
The South Korean government is accelerating the construction of a national AI computing center and pushing the country's universities and research institutes to strengthen AI research. At the same time, South Korea's technology companies are also increasing R&D investment to promote breakthroughs in AI technology. In order to attract the world's top AI talents, the South Korean government has introduced a series of policies, including providing high salaries and improving the research environment, in an effort to enhance the international competitiveness of its AI research.
(3) Promote industry application and market expansion
South Korean companies have also shown a positive attitude in promoting the application of AI technology. Companies in South Korea are exploring the application of AI technology to various industries such as healthcare, finance, and education, and developing AI products that are in demand for the market. In addition, Korean companies are also actively exploring the international market and expanding the global influence of the Korean AI industry through cooperation with international giants.
Conclusion
The rise of DeepSeek has had a profound impact on the Korean AI industry, and although it is facing challenges in terms of technology, market, and talent, the Korean government and companies are actively responding to them. By strengthening policy support, increasing R&D investment, and promoting international cooperation and application expansion, South Korea is expected to gain a firm foothold in the global AI competition and achieve its goal of becoming one of the world's three AI powers.
However, if South Korea wants to surpass DeepSeek and other AI powerhouses, it will need to make continuous efforts in technological breakthroughs, talent development, and market expansion. In the future, the global AI industry will present a multi-polar competitive landscape, and the rise of South Korea will not only be related to its own technological progress, but also have a profound impact on the global AI competition pattern.
