Seoul— South Korea’s Minister of Science and ICT, Yoo Sang-im, is set to visit the United States later this week to explore expanded cooperation with Nvidia in securing high-performance graphic processing units (GPUs), the ministry announced on Tuesday.
The trip was confirmed during a meeting of the government-led Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computing, chaired by Yoo. At the session, the ministry also unveiled an additional budget of 1.46 trillion won (approximately $1.03 billion) aimed at purchasing 10,000 advanced GPUs to bolster South Korea’s AI capabilities.
The new funding will support a comprehensive national plan focused on GPU procurement, infrastructure development, and broader utilization through public-private partnerships. The move follows the government’s earlier commitment to acquire 10,000 high-end GPUs this year to stay competitive in the global AI race.
As part of the initiative’s first phase, a cloud service provider will be selected to begin GPU acquisition and develop related infrastructure at the planned National AI Computing Center. The center will serve as a hub for domestic AI innovation, supporting research institutions, universities, and state-funded projects through shared access to the high-performance computing facility.
“Securing advanced GPUs is just the beginning of innovation within Korea’s AI ecosystem,” Minister Yoo said. “We will work in close coordination with both public and private sectors to meet this year’s GPU targets, strengthen domestic AI capabilities, and expand our national computing infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, South Korean automaker KG Mobility announced on Tuesday that it has signed a strategic agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned defense company PT Pindad to jointly develop national car and electric bus projects in the Southeast Asian nation.
The heads of agreement (HOA) was signed last Thursday at PT Pindad’s headquarters in Bandung, Indonesia, in a ceremony attended by KG Mobility Chairman Kwak Jea-sun and PT Pindad CEO Sigit Santosa.
Under the partnership, KG Mobility will provide technical support, engineering expertise, and product evaluations to aid PT Pindad’s ongoing national vehicle program. The goal is to expand production capacity to 200,000 units, with a focus on scaling up electric bus manufacturing. (Source: IANS)
