LIN NEWS
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LIN NewsLIN LLC and Cuatrecasas to Hold Joint Seminar at Casa Asia, MadridOn October 28, 2025, David H. Yang of LIN LLC will deliver a presentation titled “Business Entry Strategies in Korea” at Casa Asia in Madrid, Spain, in collaboration with the Spanish law firm Cuatrecasas. Casa Asia is a public diplomatic institution jointly established by the Spanish government and local authorities. It is widely recognized as Spain’s most prestigious and influential organization dedicated to promoting cultural, economic, and diplomatic exchange with the Asia-Pacific region. This seminar follows the joint event previously co-hosted by LIN and Cuatrecasas in Seoul on May 11, 2024. ▶ Related article: https://www.mk.co.kr/news/business/11012821 ▶ Madrid event link: https://www.casaasia.es/actividad/conferencia-como-hacer-negocios-en-corea-del-sur/?wcs_timestamp=17616438002025.10.14.
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News LetterMobility Legal Updates_[Regulations]With successive legislative measures aimed at expanding the supply of zero-emission vehicles and improving the structure of the freight transport market, both charging infrastructure providers and freight carriers need to reassess their business models and internal compliance systems. In this newsletter, LIN LLC Mobility Team introduces key legislative amendments for November 2025: △ the Amendment to the Clean Air Conservation Act (Mandatory Registration and Insurance for Charging Facilities) and △ the Amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act. Amendment to the Clean Air Conservation Act (Act No. 21123) New Obligations for Providing Installation and Usage Information for Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities The amendment to the Clean Air Conservation Act passed the National Assembly plenary session on October 26, 2025. Its main contents are: 1) The creation of a new duty for those who install or operate low-emission vehicle charging facilities to register the charging facility’s installation information (such as location and scale) on the computerized network operated by the Ministry of Environment (Article 58-10, Paragraph 1 of the Act); 2) The creation of a new duty for operators of charging facilities to register usage information (such as operating status, fees, and failure status) on the computerized network to enhance user convenience; and 3) The creation of a new duty for charging facility operators to comply with charging facility management standards (to be set by the Ministry of Environment Ordinance). In summary, the amended Act requires the installation and usage information of charging facilities to be registered on the computerized network and disclosed to the public, and it imposes an obligation on charging facility operators to comply with legally established management standards. According to the National Assembly Bill Information, the purpose of this amendment is to address the increasing inconvenience for zero-emission vehicle users due to inadequate management by some charging facility operators—despite charging facilities being a core element for expanding supply and user convenience—by requiring charging facility operators to register installation information (such as location and scale) on the computerized network and to provide real-time usage information (such as charging fees), and by establishing management standards for prompt repair in case of failure, thereby enabling the systematic management and operation of charging facilities for electric and hydrogen vehicles. The amended Act will take effect on November 12, 2026, and the provisions concerning the registration of facility and usage information are scheduled to take effect on May 12, 2027. This amendment will make it easier for users to search for, reserve, and compare fees for charging stations, while simultaneously imposing a legal compliance obligation on operators to adhere to management standards, which is highly likely to serve as an impetus for restructuring the charging infrastructure market and facilitating business model transitions. Amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act Relaxation of Age Requirements for Freight Vehicle Drivers and Rationalization of Regulations for Small-Scale Operators The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport amended and implemented the Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act on November 10, 2025 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ordinance No. 1532). The key contents of this amendment are largely twofold. First, the qualifying age for engaging in freight vehicle driving has been relaxed. Previously, a minimum age of 20 years old was required to become a general freight transport worker, but this amendment lowered the age criterion to expand the scope of driving employment to young individuals aged 18 and older. Second, restrictions on the transfer of vehicles for small-scale general freight transport operators have been eased. Operators holding fewer than a certain number of vehicles (20 vehicles) were restricted from transferring or acquiring commercial vehicles for two years after acquisition, but this amendment relaxes and adjusts the transfer restriction period in connection with the number of vehicles held. This change is regarded as a reflection of the realities faced by small-scale operators who are either establishing their initial business foundation or seeking to downsize or liquidate their operations. Consequently, the amendment is expected to help alleviate labor shortages in short-distance/small freight, quick/last-mile, and parcel sorting/delivery sectors by incorporating young individuals aged 18-19 into the pool of 'legal freight vehicle drivers.' Furthermore, it is expected to contribute to the early growth of small-scale operators (holding fewer than 20 vehicles) into normal-scale operators by providing an exception to the transfer restriction period when they acquire a business in order to increase their vehicle fleet to 20 or more. *** LIN LLC has extensive experience in providing advisory and litigation services in the mobility industry, particularly in areas such as administrative regulations, and patent and trade secret disputes related to motor vehicles. Our Mobility Team consists of attorneys and experts with a distinctive interest and passion for automobiles. Should you wish to learn more about this newsletter or have any other inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact LIN’s Mobility Team. Tae Joon Bae, Esq. (tjbae@law-lin.com, +82 10 8237 8123) Min Gu Kang, Esq. (mgkang@law-lin.com, +82 10 3907 9217) Ho Yeon Kim, Esq. (hykim@law-lin.com, +82 2 3477 6300) Jeong Pil Oh, Esq. (jpoh@law-lin.com, +82 2 3477 8695)2025.11.28.
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NoticeLin Signs MOU with Korea New & Renewable Energy Association (KNREA)Mutual cooperation on new & renewable energy-related projects through legal services in the field of laws and regulations On October 26, Lin signed an MOU with KNREA to promote the development of the domestic new & renewable energy industry. The agreement was signed to provide various legal services to KNREA and its member companies, including information on new & renewable energy-related laws and regulations. Through the agreement, the two parties agreed to cooperate on ▶ improving new & renewable energy-related laws and systems ▶ providing legal advice on new & renewable energy ▶ and training on new & renewable energy. In line with the trend of carbon neutrality, Lin will exert its best to promote the sustainable development of the renewable energy industry, which can replace conventional energy using fossil fuels and nuclear power. For more information, please visit KNREA website below. http://www.knrea.or.kr/bbs/?act=bbs&subAct=view&bid=agreement&page=1&order_type=desc&seq=58282023.11.10.
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Recruitment PersonnelNew RecruitmentsWe are pleased to welcome Jung Bong Lee (Partner), Lance B. Lee (Foreign Legal Consultant - Partner), and Ki Suk Seol (Of Counsel) as new members of our Firm. 1. Jeong Bong Lee, Partner - Incheon Songdo High School(68th) - Yonsei University, Department of Law - Chungnam National University, School of Law - Korean Bar Examination (40th, 1998) - Judicial Research and Training Institute (27th) - University of Vienna – Criminal Justice Institute Visiting Scholar (2008) Past) Incheon District Public Prosecutors’ Office – Prosecutor (2001) Past) Daejeon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, Hongseong Branch – Prosecutor (2003) Past) Incheon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, Bucheon Branch – Prosecutor (2005) Past) Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors’ Office – Prosecutor (2007) Past) Supreme Prosecutors’ Office - Prosecutor Researcher (2007) Past) Busan District Public Prosecutors’ Office – Prosecutor (2013) Past) Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) - Head of Strategic Analytics (2014) Past) Chuncheon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, Gangneung Branch – Chief Prosecutor (2016) Past) Daegu District Public Prosecutors’ Office, Seobu Branch – Chief Prosecutor, Criminal Division 3 (2017) Past) Seoul Eastern District Public Prosecutors’ Office - Chief Prosecutor, Criminal Division 5 (2018) Past) Seoul Southern District Public Prosecutors’ Office - Chief Prosecutor, Criminal Division 2 (2019) Past) Supreme Prosecutors’ Office – Human Rights Policy Officer (2020) Past) Gwangju District Public Prosecutors’ Office – Human Rights Protection Officer (2021) Past) Chuncheon District Public Prosecutors’ Office – Chief of Wonju Branch (2022) Past) Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office (Daegu District Public Prosecutors’ Office, Secondment(2023), Voluntary Resignation) Current) LIN Since his appointment as a prosecutor in 2001, Mr. Lee has served as a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, a researcher at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, a prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, a secondee at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a deputy prosecutor at the Seoul Eastern and Southern District Prosecutors' Offices, and a human rights policy officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, before finally retiring in 2023 as the Chief Prosecutor of the Wonju District Prosecutors' Office. During his 22 years and 8 months as a prosecutor, he discharged a wide range of cases, including intellectual property infringement, technology theft and unfair competition, medical malpractice, sexual assault, finance, taxation, homicide, special crime, public security, and human rights policy (due process compliance in investigations). Mr. Lee, who joined Lin as a partner in November 2023, plans to actively engage in various cases such as securities, finance, and corporate anti-corruption based on diverse investigative and theoretical experience accumulated from the prosecution. Lin boasts top domestic experts in responding to financial, corporate crimes, and other investigative matters, and we will strive to provide our clients with high-quality legal services. 2. Lance B. Lee, Foreign Legal Consultant (Partner) - Boston College Law School – J.D. - University of Virginia – B.A. Past) Dentons Lee - Chief Operating Officer, Head of International Arbitration & Litigation and Partner, 2012-2023 Past) Kim & Chang - Partner Past) STX Shipbuilding Corporation – Group General Counsel Past) POSCO – Overseas Projects Team Leader Past) U.S. Army JAG Corps – Trial Counsel, Prosecutor and Captain Past) Gainer, Rient & Hotis - Attorney Current) LIN – Head of International Arbitration & Litigation, Partner (Present) Mr. Lee, a U.S. attorney, was responsible for various international arbitration and litigation cases for 11 years at Kim & Chang, representing numerous international corporations and diverse fields. Serving as General Counsel at STX Shipbuilding Corporation and Head of the International Legal Team at POSCO, he handled tasks such as international arbitration, international litigation, IP, corporate M&A, contract negotiations, and joint investments for global conglomerates. Subsequently, as a partner at the Seoul Office of Dentons, he worked for 11 years as the Head of the International Arbitration/Litigation Team, leading numerous international arbitration cases as lead counsel. In 2024, for the first time in history, more than half of the global population will be holding elections, signaling the end of America’s “unilateral hegemony” and prompting the world to prepare for more disputes. With major industrial powers intensifying their industrial policies and protectionist measures to secure leadership in advanced and eco-friendly industries post-election, there is an anticipated increase in international disputes, particularly in advanced technology sectors such as semiconductors and information technology (IT). Mr. Lee, a foreign attorney leading the International Arbitration/Litigation Team, will leverage his experience and expertise to actively discharge legal advice on the prevention and resolution of international disputes for various global corporations based on his accumulated knowledge and professionalism. 3. Ki Suk Seol, Of Counsel - Hongik University, Department of Architecture - Kyungpook National University, Graduate School of Law, - KAIST, Intellectual Property Graduate School - Bar Examination (3rd) Past) Eland Group, Legal Department Past) Hyundai Engineering, Legal Department Past) Ministry of Justice, Legal Affairs Officer Past) Ministry of Justice, Legal Affairs Secretary Current) LIN Mr. Seol, as an in-house counsel for a large corporation, has accumulated expertise in a wide range of legal affairs that can arise within the company, including civil and criminal litigation and consultation, fair trade practices, compliance, intellectual property, construction, and labor-related dispute management. Subsequently, serving as a Legal Affairs Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, he handled administrative adjudication and litigation, legislation drafting and revision, interpretation of laws and rights, review of government and legislative bills, formulation of legislative strategies, improvement of attorney and notary systems, and enhancement of legal technology systems. Through these roles, he has built expertise in planning, administration, and legislation. Amidst the ongoing challenges such as the increase in unsold and unoccupied properties, rising construction costs, high interest rates, and stagnation in real estate PF, it is anticipated that legal disputes and litigation among real estate market participants, including developers, contractors, financial institutions, trustees, and local housing associations, will continue to rise. Mr. Seol, who has served as an in-house counsel for a global integrated construction company, has handled a wide range of cases from civil and criminal matters to fair trade, construction, labor, and compliance issues, from the client's perspective, collaborating with various major law firms. Drawing upon his extensive practical experience accumulated in the field, he is committed to providing tailored solutions, not only advisory services but also litigation support, to corporate clients. 4. Recruitment of Foreign Lawyer With recent concerns over deflation in China, attitudes of Korean companies towards China have become notably cautious. Consequently, there is a growing need for professional advice regarding entry into the Chinese market. Recognizing this demand, Lin has recently recruited Ms. Wenpu Yang (Chinese attorney), aiming to provide high-quality legal service that aligns with our clients’ business strategies and management objectives on various issues related to Sino-Korean business relations. Going forward, Lin promises to continuously recruit verified talents in various fields to ensure customer satisfaction.2024.02.05.
Attorney Byung-hwa Lee of LIN LLC: The Distribution of Assets in an Unforeseen Tragedy – Statutory Succession and Subrogated Succession [Byung-hwa Lee’s Law on Farewells and Those Left Behind]
▲ Attorney Byung-hwa Lee, LIN LLC
■ The tragic choice of a wealthy daughter: who inherits the estate?
There once was an only daughter, a promising entrepreneur who was self-made, accumulating a multi-billion-won fortune from humble beginnings. Having devoted herself to work and neglected relationships, she was captivated by a man she met well past the age of forty and rushed into marriage. The mother, who had raised her daughter alone, was not entirely fond of her son-in-law but could not oppose her daughter’s decision.
However, the happiness of the newlywed couple was short-lived. Marital discord began right after the wedding, and the conflict deepened as the husband frequently stayed out late. Tragically, less than a year after the wedding, the daughter took her own life, despairing over her situation. The son-in-law became unreachable shortly after the deceased daughter’s estate was settled. This account is based on a true story that has been fictionalized.
■ Order of Statutory Succession
In this situation, many people may be curious about what happens to the daughter's estate. Let’s recall the order of succession discussed in the previous column.
The first priority heir is the lineal descendants of the deceased (children, grandchildren, etc.), and the second priority heir is the lineal ascendants of the deceased (parents, grandparents, etc.). The spouse shall be a co-heir with the first or second priority group, or shall become the sole heir if both the first and second priority heirs are absent.
In this case, since the daughter had no children, there is no first-priority heir. The succession therefore passes to the next priority, and the mother, as the second-priority heir, inherits the daughter’s estate, with the daughter’s husband becoming a co-heir with the mother. In terms of share: as the spouse’s inheritance share is increased by 50% compared to the lineal ascendant’s share, If the mother’s share is set at 1, the husband’s (son-in-law’s) share becomes 1.5. Thus, if the total estate were 10 billion KRW, the husband would inherit approximately 6 billion KRW, and the mother would inherit approximately 4 billion KRW.
From the mother's perspective, it would feel deeply unfair and heartbreaking that the son-in-law, whom she disliked, would take a large portion of the fortune her daughter worked so hard to build, less than a year after their marriage. However, because the law strongly protects the inheritance rights of a legal spouse whose marriage has not been dissolved, this conclusion is unavoidable.
■ The Mother’s Death, and the Son-in-law Who Disappeared – Subrogated Succession
The mother, devastated by her daughter's death, passed away five years later. Her estate included the inheritance received from her daughter, a luxury apartment worth 3 billion KRW that her daughter had bought, and a substantial amount of deposits Who now inherits the mother’s estate?
The mother’s first priority heir is her lineal descendant (children). But since the daughter who died first was the only child, there were no other children. Does this mean there is no first-priority heir? This is where the issue of subrogated succession arises.
Subrogated Succession refers to a system where, if a lineal descendant or sibling who was entitled to be an heir dies or is disqualified before the commencement of succession, their own lineal descendants or spouse inherit in place and priority of the deceased or disqualified person. Simply put, if a child predeceases a parent, the deceased child's children (grandchildren) or spouse (son-in-law, daughter-in-law) inherits the deceased child's share of the estate. If the deceased child has no children, the spouse inherits the entire subrogated share alone. However, a prerequisite for the spouse to receive the subrogated succession is that they must not have remarried. This is because remarriage immediately terminates the affinity relationship (in-law relationship) and consequently, the right to subrogated succession is lost.
In this case, the daughter's husband, who had disappeared after the daughter’s death, learned of the mother’s death. If he had remarried in the interim, he would not receive a single penny of the mother’s estate. However, if he had not remarried, he would qualifie as a subrogated heir and inherit the mother’s entire estate. Did the husband in the actual case remarry? Or was he waiting for the mother’s death without remarrying?
■ Lessons on Succession
This case clearly demonstrates that inheritance is not solely determined by blood ties or emotional bonds. The legal principles of statutory succession and subrogated succession can operate in ways we do not anticipate, sometimes resulting in outcomes that deviate from the deceased's true intentions or the practical circumstances of the bereaved family. If the husband had not remarried, the entirety of the vast assets held by the daughter and the mother would ultimately fall into the hands of the husband who was the underlying cause of the daughter's death.
To avoid such heartbreaking consequences, to respect the final wishes of the deceased, and to save the remaining family from unnecessary conflict and despair, it’s essential to prepare an estate plan during one’s lifetime. This involves drafting a will or estate plan, consulting with a legal expert, and clearly indicating who should receive which assets.in a way that holds up in court. This is the wisest wisdom that goes beyond the grief of ‘being left behind' to secure the peace of ‘being left behind,' and it is the truest expression of love for one's family.
For further details, please refer to the original article below.
Today Newspaper
Original article:
https://www.ntoday.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=117950
[LIN LLC] Yong-tae Kim, Customs Expert Advisor, Legal Interpretation of German Customs Crimes [Professor Yong-tae Kim’s Customs Story]
▲ Yong-tae Kim, Customs Expert Advisor at LIN LLC
From mid-December 1998 to the end of March 1999, a Polish alcohol smuggling organization, with the help of defendants T, H, and R, smuggled seven shipments from France to Poland.
Each shipment contained 28,600 liters (1 truck) or 57,200 liters (2 trucks) of highly pure ethanol (96% purity).
Each shipment was initially approved for export to Ukraine under the EU internal transit procedure. During transport, T was responsible for purchasing the alcohol in France and making the payment.
T received from the smuggling organization at least 3,000 Deutsche Marks per truck in commission.
T’s brother PT, managed the transport together with unidentified Polish individuals, obtained disguised documents, and organized alcohol sales on the Polish black market.
H was responsible for transshipping the alcohol—which was transported with forged shipment documents—into rail containers and verifying the forgery status of the CMR (Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road) consignment note. H involved R, the manager of S warehouse in the Hamburg free port, in the transshipment process.
H received 3,000 Deutsche Marks per transshipped alcohol truck, and R received 1,000 Deutsche Marks per container as commission. The transport went as follows:
T ordered the alcohol from the French company G and paid directly (mostly in cash) through the Luxembourg company E. Company G, as the consignor, declared the goods under the EU internal transit procedure via the Frankfurt/Oder border customs.
The consignee was registered as ‘V,’ a company in Vynohradiv, Ukraine, which the smuggling organization had established as a disguised consignee. Subsequently, instead of proceeding to the Frankfurt/Oder border customs, members of the smuggling organization drove the trucks carrying the alcohol to Hamburg.
Before arriving at the Port of Hamburg, the French accompanying administrative document (DCA)—needed for the alcohol transport—was swapped for a CMR consignment note misrepresenting the cargo as a chemical shipment, listing the consignor with a German address.
To make the alcohol appear to have been legally exported under customs supervision, the DCA was falsified by applying a forged export confirmation stamp and returned to company G that had declared the goods under the EU internal transit procedure, through T.
After verifying the forgery status of the CMR consignment note, H, together with R, handled the transshipment of the alcohol onto rail containers bound for Poland.
To conceal the alcohol cargo, H and R commissioned the transshipment to company I in Campione, Switzerland. Company I, with the help of the freight carrier Rü, transshipped the alcohol cargo disguised as chemicals and then transported it to Poland.
During the transport, H kept in contact with PT and unidentified Polish individuals, providing them with the container numbers of the disguised cargo.
Defendants T, H, and R all recognized that German alcohol duties would be incurred if they swapped the transport documents in Germany and evaded customs supervision of the alcohol transport.
Nevertheless, none of them submitted the required tax declaration to customs.
They believed that since Germany and Poland cooperate on border monitoring, importing the alcohol into Poland from EU with a forged label, designed to represent a legal export, was impossible, and only non-taxed alcohol would be profitable for sale on the Polish black market.
The German Federal Court of Justice made the following tax criminal law assessment regarding the conduct of defendants T, H, and R (BGH 5 StR 600/01 – October 24, 2002, ruling):
Defendant H intentionally used the forged CMR consignment note for the shipment of chemicals. The forgery H committed extends to the actions of the smuggling organization members who swapped the attached administrative document for the forged CMR consignment note in Germany before the alcohol arrived in Hamburg.
As the actions of the smuggling organization members are attributed to H as if they were his own, H is treated as an accomplice to all crimes committed by the members who smuggled the alcohol from France to Poland.
Within the smuggling organization, H was responsible for the transshipment of the alcohol and the shipment of the goods to Poland, which required considerable logistical effort and the participation of several companies.
Consequently, H possessed almost exclusive control over the valuable goods within the smuggling organization, based on conspiracy and division of labor.
After conspiring with other members of the smuggling organization and swapping the forged CMR consignment note and the DCA, H violated the immediate submission duty of the tax declaration under the Alcohol Administration Act (BranntwMonG).
Although only a person with a special obligation to clearly notify facts material to taxation can be a principal offender of tax evasion under AO Article 370, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph 2, this notification duty falls upon H because H is determined to be the direct obligor of the alcohol tax as the one who evaded customs supervision during the internal transit procedure.
Customs supervision of the transit procedure for the alcohol transported from France to Germany under the EU internal transit procedure for export to Ukraine was evaded in Germany, and this evasion is attributed to H.
Defendant R participated in the transshipment of the alcohol transport in Hamburg at the request of Defendant H. Although this belonged to his area of responsibility, he held a significantly lower rank within the smuggling organization than Defendant H, and the compensation R received was considerably less than the remuneration received by Defendants H and T.
Nevertheless, R is regarded as an accomplice and not a mere accessory, as he held significant control over the main process of the overall criminal activity. This is because the alcohol transshipment took place under the control of R, the manager of S warehouse.
Furthermore, R independently communicated with company I, which was commissioned to perform the transshipment for the purpose of concealment. Only through R, who was in this critical position, could H obtain the container numbers that were absolutely necessary for the Polish principals to receive the alcohol-filled containers.
Defendant T is deemed a principal offender of tax evasion by omission because he was under a personal duty to submit the tax declaration. T did not directly and personally participate in evading customs supervision of the alcohol during the EU internal transit procedure.
However, the acts committed by the smuggling organization members during the alcohol transport, in furtherance of the conspiracy, are attributed to T, and T is treated as a 'carrier.' T’s actions are evaluated not as merely assisting the actions of others, but as part of the actions of all participants.
T, who received 3,000 Deutsche Marks per transport as compensation for participating in the crime, similar to H, had a significant influence on the execution of the alcohol transport, and without T, such a method of transport could not have existed.
Within the smuggling organization, T took full responsibility for finding suitable suppliers for the ordered quantity of alcohol, carrying out the purchase including price negotiations, making the final direct payment, and contributing to determining the timing of the alcohol transport.
For further details, please refer to the original article below:
Original article:
Tax Finance News
https://www.tfmedia.co.kr/news/article.html?no=193100
[Op-Ed] Seok-ho Bang, Senior Advisor at LIN LLC: What It Takes for Korea to Truly Become One of the ‘AI Big Three’
▲ Seok-ho Bang, Senior Advisor at LIN LLC
The Korean government has selected artificial intelligence (AI) as a new growth engine, writing a new chapter in history by once again seizing information technology (IT) as the lifeline for economic development, following the era of informatization.
However, AI is a complex variable that moves in conjunction with technological sovereignty, strategic independence, and global economic conflict. Europe, lamenting its fate of having become mere users of Big Tech companies from the U.S. and China, refers to its situation as a "digital colony." In response, they are pursuing a third way through diversified global cooperation, implementing strategies to define their own identity and leverage their advantages, such as developing proprietary AI models and constructing hyperscale AI data centers.
Amid such trends, there are concerns that overly optimistic expectations and misguided approaches to AI could intensify social, economic, and class conflicts. Furthermore, given survey results indicating that people often use AI primarily as a "friend for emotional connection," it is problematic if AI policy goals focus merely on enabling all citizens to use AI well and for free. This is because it could lead to greater side effects, such as the destruction of human relationships. The global market is shifting from developing merely "smarter" technology to creating practical AI that "better assists people" and forming the necessary ecosystem, making it unnecessary even to recall the philosophy of "human-centered AI" emphasized in our own Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence Price competition is also occurring, with only a handful of players expected to survive. However, if the ambition of joining the 'AI Big Three' is merely to achieve the rank of 3rd in the AI hierarchy after the U.S. and China, it holds no meaning in a global reality where the winner takes it all in a fight of capital.
Korea must consider how and in which sectors it can build an AI powerhouse. This requires not only independent technology development but also competition in application within individual industry sites, and the design of an "Open Sovereign AI" predicated on diversified global cooperation. The government's AI budget is significantly smaller than the investment volumes of Big Tech, and thus, it must clearly contain the will to build a "sustainable AI ecosystem"—something Big Tech cannot do—rather than simply creating a fleeting market. In this regard, the current reality—where the medical field, a priority option for an AI strategy that we are fully capable of executing, remains buried in the issue of medical school enrollment quotas—constitutes a major national loss. Europe, for example, announced a strategy this March through a special law to create an integrated personal medical information database and build a large-scale data-driven industrial ecosystem with not only medical institutions but also pharmaceutical, biotech, R&D, and insurance companies. The shift in the medical data ecosystem utilizing AI is triggering a tsunami in adjacent industries, such as changing the existing cost-reimbursement health insurance structure toward a disease prediction and prevention system. We possess the great advantage of centrally managing the personal medical information of 50 million citizens through public institutions like the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), yet we are failing to leverage it. We remain limited to data linkage primarily among medical institutions for treatment purposes and the construction of a personal health information portal. The shortcuts to becoming one of the AI Big Three and the practical implementation of Sovereign AI include: transforming our medical sector—which possesses sufficient competitiveness in manpower, technology, and infrastructure—into an expanded AI medical bio-industry ecosystem to achieve world-class status; and transitioning South Korea—already a powerhouse in automation with the world's highest industrial robot density—into a strategic base for the AI manufacturing ecosystem. For further details, please refer to the original article below:
Maeil Business Newspaper – Read the Original Article:
https://m.mk.co.kr/news/contributors/11370561
