The South Korean government announced that it has selected three consortia led by SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao as operators for the "AI for All" project, which aims to provide free public AI services to citizens.
This project aims to establish AI sovereignty and avoid excessive dependence on AI models from the United States and China by providing advanced AI services free of charge. The services provided are expected to support tasks integrated with government systems, such as doctor appointments, tax consultations, and tax calculations for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The selected operators will receive a total of 512 NVIDIA B200 units from the government during 2026. Each consortium is required to utilize both in-house developed and third-party AI models.
The SK Telecom consortium plans to develop action-oriented AI that is also accessible via phone and SMS. The KT consortium will partner with search engines, e-commerce sites, and IPTV channels to provide services capable of performing information searches and commercial tasks within a single conversation. The Kakao consortium plans to use the messaging platform "KakaoTalk" as an entry point and distribute specialized AI agents.
The government plans to sign contracts in September and officially launch the services in 2026 following a beta period. Additionally, the government stated that in 2027, it will provide financial support to each consortium for a portion of the costs required to provide services on a national scale.
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South Korean government promoting "AI for All" project to provide free domestic AI services to the general public (GIGAZINE, 2026-08-31)