Korea’s Ruling Democrats Launch 2nd AI Power Committee, Tapping Prof. Samseog KO as Global AI Social Transition Vice Chair

Korea’s ruling Democratic Party turns its AI Power Committee into a governing-party engine, wiring industry, K‑Culture, and governance into a single co‑evolution strategy.

With distinguished Prof. Samseog Ko leading the Global AI Social Transition agenda, Korea bets on co‑evolution of technology, K‑Culture, and democracy to define the next stage of its AI leadership.

Now in government, the DPK transforms its AI committee from opposition think tank to ruling-party execution engine — semiconductor, physical AI, energy, healthcare, K-Culture, and governance experts unite behind Korea's first governing-party AI action body

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) — Korea's ruling party since President Lee Jae-myung's election — officially launched the 2nd AI Power Committee on March 10 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. The committee was first established when President Lee was still the DPK party leader and served as its inaugural chair.

With the DPK now firmly in government, the committee has undergone a fundamental transformation: no longer an opposition advisory body, it is now a ruling-party executive committee backed by full legislative authority and budget power.

Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae, current DPK party leader and National Assembly member, chairs the 2nd committee. Rep. Lee Eon-ju, Senior Supreme Council Member and National Assembly member, serves as Senior Vice Chair.

As Korea's governing party, the DPK can now turn AI policy commitments directly into legislation and national budget allocations. The 2nd committee's agenda runs on two pillars: an Industry Division covering semiconductor self-sufficiency, physical AI ecosystems, and power infrastructure; and a Social Division addressing healthcare, K-Culture, vulnerable populations, and global AI governance.

A unifying philosophy runs through both: “co-evolution” (gong-jin-hwa, 共進化) — the conviction that lasting AI leadership demands the simultaneous, organic advancement of technology, culture, democracy, and human-centered values.

The Ruling Party's Mandate: From Opposition Think Tank to National AI Execution Engine

The political significance of this launch is inseparable from the DPK's change of status. When the 1st committee was active, the DPK was in opposition — it could propose, advocate, and pressure, but could not govern. That has changed entirely. The DPK now controls the executive branch under President Lee, and the 2nd AI Power Committee is being deployed as an instrument of government — one designed to produce policy that feeds directly into National Assembly legislation and national budget decisions.

Rep. Hwang Jeong-a (National Assembly, Secretary-General) made the before-and-after contrast explicit: “Where the 1st committee set the agenda as the opposition, the 2nd will drive actionable, accountable policies as the ruling party and lead Korea's transformation into a global AI powerhouse.” Rep. Cha Ji-ho (National Assembly, Secretary-General) put a commercial figure on the stakes: “AI transformation in healthcare, education, and finance — sectors that account for the overwhelming share of global GDP — is the core battleground. The unmet healthcare market in developing nations alone is projected to reach 20 quadrillion Korean won by 2032. Which nation enters first will determine who leads in AI.”

Chair Jeong: “Top 3 Is the Floor — Korea Should Challenge for the Top 2”

In his opening address, Chair Jeong Cheong-rae, the DPK party leader and National Assembly member, framed AI as Korea's defining national priority: “As Korea's international standing continues to rise, AI is the engine and driving force of our future growth.” He then raised the ambition a level higher than Korea's stated target.

“We have every reason to challenge not just for the top 3, but the top 2 in AI. I believe this committee will play a pivotal role in making Korea one of the world's leading AI powers. I ask each of you to strive to become a patriotic champion of the AI age.” — Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae, Chair

The framing was deliberate. Korea's official AI strategy has long targeted a “top 3” position globally. By calling for a challenge at “top 2,” the ruling party's new committee is signaling that with governing authority now in hand, ambition should be recalibrated upward.

Senior Vice Chair Lee Eon-ju: Ruling-Party Authority Behind AI Transformation

Rep. Lee Eon-ju, Senior Supreme Council Member of the DPK and National Assembly member, joins as Senior Vice Chair of the 2nd committee — a structural upgrade that reflects the body's new status as a ruling-party instrument. In the 1st committee, the senior leadership tier was occupied by the party leader alone. Adding a Senior Vice Chair at the level of Supreme Council seniority signals that AI policy now commands the highest level of DPK party governance attention.

The appointment also reinforces the legislative dimension of the committee's mandate. As members of the National Assembly, both Chair Jeong and Vice Chair Lee have the direct ability to introduce, advance, and pass AI-related legislation — a capability that distinguishes this committee from any academic or advisory body, and from its own predecessor.

Prof. Samseog Ko Joins as Vice Chair — Co-evolution as the Philosophical Core

Dr. Samseog Ko, Distinguished Professor at Dongguk University's College of AI Convergence, joined the newly established Global AI Social Transition Division under the Social Division as Vice Chair. At the launch, he outlined three priority agendas for his work on the committee.

As a former Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) — Korea's top regulatory body overseeing broadcasting, telecommunications, and media — Ko has spent his career at the intersection of technology, content, and public policy.

1)  Advancing human-centered AI technology  and building an AI Basic Society in which everyone thrives together

2)  Combining K-AI with K-Culture  to drive global reach and solidarity, and strengthen Korea's national image and competitiveness

3)  Pursuing a co-evolution strategy  where technology, culture, democracy, and society advance together

Dr.Ko anchored all three agendas in a co-evolution philosophy — the idea that AI leadership is not achieved through technical supremacy alone, but through the simultaneous organic advancement of technology alongside the culture, democracy, and social values that surround it.

“A true AI powerhouse cannot be built on technology alone. Only when technology, culture, innovation, democracy, and human-centered values organically combine — co-evolve — can a nation truly lead the world in AI.” — Prof. Samseog KO

Dr. Ko identified K-Culture and Korea's democratic resilience as the nation's most distinctive assets for realizing this vision.

“Korea created K-Culture that the world loves. It is also the nation that overcame the national crisis of martial law through a Revolution of Light — a triumph of K-Democracy. These two assets must be transformed into soft power for the AI age.” Through the combination of K-AI and K-Culture, he committed to “building a world where global solidarity flourishes and humanity advances together.”

On Korea's global responsibility, Ko called for a step-change in ambition: moving beyond being a nation that develops AI technology to one that “shapes the order and values of the AI era.” He presented three overarching visions: presenting a model AI Basic Society where all can thrive; leading global AI governance discussions; and building an ‘AI civilization’ where technological innovation, economic growth, and social inclusion advance in harmony. “I am fully committed to ensuring that Korea becomes a responsible technology nation and a model of inclusive AI society,” he pledged.

Social Division: Healthcare Standards, Protecting Vulnerable Groups, and Anticipatory Governance

The Social Division addresses inequality, public interest, and intellectual property protection across the AI transition. Prof Junbeom  Seo (University of Ulsan) projected that “Korea can leverage its public medical data to establish 'AI Basic Healthcare' as an international standard, contributing to global health outcomes” — framing Korea's healthcare data advantage as a platform for global standard-setting, not merely domestic reform.

Dr.  Seonha Ahn (WHO Special Adviser) committed to “bridging the voices of women and youth — the most vulnerable in the AI labor market restructuring — into policy.” Prof. Park Seong-pil (KAIST Graduate School of Future Strategy) called for legislative innovation: “An anticipatory governance approach, where diverse stakeholders participate in an agile manner, will be critical to Korea's rise as an AI nation.” This is a call for legislation that moves ahead of disruption rather than reacting to it.

Industry Division: Semiconductor Self-sufficiency, Physical AI, and Power Grid

The Industry Division is focused on the hardware and infrastructure foundations of an AI economy. Vice Chair Baek Jun-ho (CEO, Furiosa AI) made a pointed case for domestic chip independence: “In this era of massive AI investment, we must substantially internalize domestic AI semiconductors rather than relying on NVIDIA GPUs.” FuriosaAI will begin mass production of 20,000 second-generation AI chips this year.

Vice Chair Son Byeong-hui (Research Director, Maum AI) addressed the physical AI shift: “We have entered an era where robots and AI converge. Robots need industrial data to operate — a national data factory is essential.” Vice Chair Hyeon Dong-jin (Executive Director, Hyundai Motor Robotics Lab) added a human-purpose test: “We must be able to answer whether our technology fills what is missing in an aging society.”

Vice Chair Park Jong-bae (Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Konkuk University) flagged a critical infrastructure gap: “Korea's AI data center power consumption is only 1/22nd that of the United States.” He proposed fast-track evaluation of grid capacity and a co-location model pairing power generation facilities with data centers from the planning stage.

A Governing Party with Real Power — and a Vision Beyond Technology

The 2nd AI Power Committee marks a qualitative shift in Korean AI policy. For the first time, the DPK's AI agenda is backed by the full authority of a governing party — chaired and vice-chaired by sitting National Assembly members with real legislative power. The semiconductor roadmaps, physical AI data factories, healthcare data standards, and governance frameworks on the committee's agenda are no longer opposition proposals. They are governing-party priorities, with a direct path to legislation and budget allocation.

The co-evolution philosophy advanced by Prof. Samseog Ko provides the conceptual framework that holds the committee's two divisions together. It connects the Industry Division's technical agenda — chip self-sufficiency, physical AI, power infrastructure — with the Social Division's ambitions around K-Culture, inclusive healthcare, and anticipatory governance. The argument is that Korea's edge in AI will not come from replicating the United States or China, but from combining technical capability with the unique assets that K-Culture and K-Democracy represent.

Chair Jeong closed the ceremony with a direct challenge to the assembled members: “I ask each of you to strive to establish yourselves as patriotic champions of the AI age.” As Korea's ruling party, the DPK now has both the mandate and the tools to follow through.