South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Friday that he would provide full support for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, aiming to position it as the country's next major economic growth engine.

Lee Jae-myung attended the launch ceremony of the artificial intelligence (AI) data center project jointly built by SK Group and Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, about 305 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The facility will become the largest AI center in South Korea when completed, which is the necessary infrastructure for Lee Jae-myung to realize his vision of an "AI highway" to make South Korea one of the top three AI powers in the world.

"The new government will actively and fully support AI to make South Korea a fast-growing country and make AI a core driver of economic growth," Lee Jae-myung said.

To achieve this vision, Lee Jae-myung promised bold tax incentives and regulatory reforms to encourage private investment and secure data and train skilled professionals.

He also stressed the need to develop a sovereign AI model that the public can use to benefit in their daily lives, as well as customized models for specific industries to drive innovation and AI cross-sector transformation.

“While a facility with an initial capacity of 100 megawatts is currently under construction, it will eventually be expanded to 1 gigawatt to become a global AI center capable of meeting domestic and overseas needs,” SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said at the launch ceremony.

“The Ulsan AI Data Center will play a key role in building the best AI highway and infrastructure,” Chey said.

At a meeting held by Lee Jae-myung with AI industry leaders, Chey Tae-won suggested that the government adopt a wider range of AI technologies to stimulate public demand for the field.