Lee Hae-min of Rebuilding Korea Party Named Presidential Office AI Chief

The Presidential Office has filled the vacancy in the AI Future Planning Senior Secretary post by appointing Lee Hae-min, a lawmaker from the Rebuilding Korea Party, ending a roughly 4-month gap that followed the resignation of former AI chief Ha Jung-woo. The Presidential Office named Lee on the 30th as the new Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning.

The Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning position had been vacant since former AI chief Ha resigned in April to run in a by-election for the National Assembly. Lee's move to the Presidential Office has ended the roughly 4-month vacancy in the AI chief post.

Lee is an IT expert with a background at Google and experience in the IT industry. He will be responsible for coordinating the government's AI policies.

Lee entered the 22nd National Assembly as a proportional representative for the Rebuilding Korea Party and served on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. In the 22nd National Assembly, he handled ICT policy issues including AI and platforms, and discussed major ICT issues such as AI, platforms and telecommunications.

Lee also took part in discussions on fostering the AI industry and improving related systems, AI transformation (AX) for small and mid-sized businesses and medium-sized enterprises, and technology industry issues including platform policy. He will continue handling AI and ICT policies in the Presidential Office that he dealt with in the National Assembly.

The Rebuilding Korea Party said it sees AI as a key policy area for national development and a livelihood issue in the years ahead, and that it agrees with the appointment of Lee to the AI chief post. The party issued a statement from its spokesperson on the day, saying it agreed with Lee's appointment in line with its stance on cooperation with the government and ruling party on livelihood issues.

The Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning post was newly created with the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration and is responsible for coordinating overall national AI policy within the Presidential Office. The first officeholder was former Naver Cloud AI Innovation Center chief Ha Jung-woo, but he resigned in April to run in the election, and the AI chief post then remained vacant for a long period.

With the arrival of the new senior secretary, the Presidential Office's AI policy coordination function will resume. The government is simultaneously pushing for an independent AI foundation model, expansion of AI infrastructure, "AI for Everyone," and industrial and public AX, and the senior secretary will serve as a bridge between relevant ministries and the Presidential Committee on Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Former senior secretary Ha was appointed as a standing vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee. Vice Chair Ha will oversee the committee's medium- to long-term strategy and interministerial coordination.

Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon is driving major AI projects, while the new senior secretary will coordinate the Presidential Office's overall policy direction. A key task ahead is how the new senior secretary, who has handled AI industry and regulatory issues in the National Assembly, will connect the government's major AI projects with policy.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406244

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406244