S. KOREA'S PLAN ON AI DEVELOPMENT

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Global IT and financial giants are continuously stressing the importance of artificial intelligence. South Korea's government and businesses are also striving to foster the AI sector. While unveiling its new AI technology, Naver announced a plan to create an Asia-Europe AI research belt and President Moon Jae-in also presented a vision to introduce an AI government.

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Mini Cheetah, the world's first four-legged robot to do a backflip. Capable of completing facial recognition in point-1 second and deciding whether to grant access, it is a good example of AI technology application. While the U.S., is the current leader in the AI race, China is making rapid progress. In a bid to challenge the two superpowers, South Korea's IT giant Naver plans to establish an AI research belt that spans from Asia to Europe that can help the nation become a global AI powerhouse.

[Soundbite] BAEK JONG-YOON(NAVER LABS) : "We are preparing to play a leading role in developing the nation's AI industry through collaboration with overseas branches beyond the U.S. and China."

While attending the conference, President Moon Jae-in promised to introduce an AI government.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "The government will put forward by the end of the year, a national AI strategy based on a completely new concept."

The first step is to increase the number of AI graduate programs to 20 in three years to nurture experts in the field. While proactively investing in key technologies such as AI chips, the government vows to become more AI based, to provide quality services, starting in the disaster prevention and safety sectors. South Korea accounts for 1.3 percent in the global AI market. The nation's government and businesses are making all-out efforts to narrow the technology gap with international leaders in the field.