The Democratic Party of Korea’s think tank, the Minju Institute’s Collective Intelligence Center, released a video on their YouTube channel on the 2nd, featuring Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, discussing “AI and South Korea, and Me” with experts. On this day, Lee emphasized the need for utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in the defense sector, questioning, “Why are tens of thousands of young people sitting in barracks while fulfilling military services? Is that truly our defense and combat power?”
During the first dialogue hosted by the Collective Intelligence Center, Lee remarked, “Our military has the highest military density in the world,” stressing the importance of AI in national defense. He added, “Observing the Ukraine war, it’s almost a drone war. Eventually, everything will evolve into drones, robots, and unmanned systems. AI must be integrated into national defense, representing a new opportunity for the defense industry.”
Lee’s comments highlighted the necessity of AI in security, drawing attention to military service issues, indicating a strategy to engage young men in their 20s, often seen as a weak demographic for the Democratic Party.
He also mentioned the potential of an AI-driven society enabling public sectors to hold a share of the massive productivity gains from AI, proposed distributing these benefits to everyone. He suggested a “shift in thinking,” asserting that if investments are made in AI, and a portion is managed through a national or public fund, significant productivity benefits could be shared, decreasing reliance on taxes.
“For instance,” he stated, “if we had a company like Nvidia in Korea, having 70% privately owned and 30% shared among the public might lead to a society less dependent on taxes.”
The dialogue was structured around questions submitted to “All Questions Q,” an online platform for gathering public policy opinions, with Lee presenting these questions for discussion among participants.
Participants included Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver Cloud Center and joint representative of the National Alliance for Realizing a Just Scientific Society, and Oh Hye-yeon, Director of KAIST AI Institute.
The Collective Intelligence Center of the Minju Institute plans to continue addressing various social policy issues in dialogues based on questions submitted to “All Questions Q.”