Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon spoke at a meeting with the CEOs of the three major telecommunications companies held at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 9th.
On April 23, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the number of Korean models classified as “notable AI models” in the “AI Index 2026” report released by Stanford University’s Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI) in the U.S. on April 13 is set to be corrected from five to eight.
The eight models are Solar Open 100B (Upstage), K-ExaOne, ExaOne 4.0 (32B), ExaOne PATH 2.0, ExaOne Deep (32B) (all from LG AI Research Institute), BAEKI (NC AI), AI.X K1 (SK Telecom), and HyperCLOVA X SEED 32B SYNC (Naver Cloud). Of these, five models are the results of the first phase evaluation of the “Independent AI Foundation Model Project” that began last year.
A representative from the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “This correction reflects a request to Stanford’s HAI Institute for further verification of our country’s AI models,” adding, “Our country’s AI models are being recognized globally for their performance.”
Previously, Stanford University’s Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI) announced in the “2026 AI Index” that the number of notable AI models in South Korea as of 2025 was five, four of which were from LG AI Research Institute.
Korea ranked third, following the U.S. (50 models) and China (30 models), moving up one place from fourth last year. This was a higher evaluation compared to major advanced countries like Canada, France, and the UK (tied for fourth with one model each). However, with the recent correction increasing the number of listed AI models, Korea has solidified its position as one of the top three AI powers.