Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaks during the AI talk show at the KCCI Summer Forum held in Gyeongju. (Image courtesy of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
GYEONGJU, July 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), issued a pointed warning on Friday about China’s rapid advancement in manufacturing AI, urging South Korea to form a strategic alliance with Japan and reform key policies to maintain competitiveness in the global AI race.
Speaking at an AI-focused talk session during the KCCI Summer Forum in Gyeongju, Chey emphasized, “The greatest threat to manufacturing AI today is China. They now have more data than we do, and their learning speed is accelerating. To survive, we must outperform them.”
Chey proposed strategic cooperation with Japan, noting the complementary nature of the two countries’ manufacturing data. “Japan holds different types of data than Korea, making mutual supplementation possible,” he said. “We need a strategic alliance—not exclusive rivalry.”
He also addressed the critical need for talent, suggesting that importing high-level AI experts from abroad may be a more immediate solution than waiting for domestic training programs to yield results.
“One of the biggest reasons Korea is struggling to grow is brain drain,” he said. “We must attract global talent and create an ecosystem where they can settle and drive domestic economic growth.”
To that end, Chey proposed creating English-friendly urban hubs to help foreign professionals integrate into Korean society.
Chey also stressed the urgent need to overhaul Korea’s electricity pricing system, particularly given the energy demands of AI infrastructure. “Electricity accounts for 85% of data center operating costs.
This industry consumes an enormous amount of power,” he said, adding that Korea’s uniform national electricity pricing is outdated. “We need a new pricing map—areas closer to power plants should pay less.”
He further called for regulatory reform to enable data sharing between companies, warning that the current climate of protecting proprietary data while demanding access to others’ limits progress.
“We can’t evolve in that kind of environment,” he said. “Collaboration and reciprocal data exchange are key to creating synergy and sustaining competition.”
Chey also floated the idea of expanding Korea’s regulatory sandbox system—currently designed to temporarily ease restrictions for new innovations—into a broader “mega sandbox” framework that could empower local governments to foster regional innovation.
“We need space to dream of strategic regional development,” he said, “and transform good ideas into globally competitive ventures, even if the road ahead is uncertain.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
