Lee Jae-myung administration, first AI Future Planning Chief appointed ex-Naver Ha Jung-woo... 'Sovereign AI' initiative kicks off

Ha Jung-woo, Chief of AI Future Planning leading Lee Jae-myung government's AI strategy (Source: Maeil Business)

President Lee Jae-myung appointed Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver AI Innovation Center, as the newly established Chief of AI Future Planning, and began to officially initiate the national-level artificial intelligence strategy. The presidential office announced this appointment through an official briefing on the 15th, stating that they “hope the private sector's field experience will lead to national AI policy.”

The new chief, Ha Jung-woo, is from Busan, born in 1977, with a PhD in Computer Engineering from Seoul National University. He is recognized as a practical talent who led joint research with KAIST and Seoul National University while serving as the director of Naver AI Lab. Especially, since 2021, he has been working as a co-chairman of the AI Future Forum and has been striving to establish a domestic AI ecosystem and promote global cooperation.

Politically, he has shown a flexible approach that crosses conservative and progressive factions. Under the Yoon Seok-yeol government, he served as the chairman of the AI-Data subcommittee of the Digital Platform Government Committee and the head of the Super-large Public AI Task Force, and also served as an advisor for the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. After the impeachment of former President Yoon, he moved to the AI Strong Nation Committee under Lee Jae-myung's side and participated in discussions and forums.

The presidential office focused on Chief Ha's advocacy of 'Sovereign AI', a nation-independent AI strategy. This concept emphasizes AI sovereignty and technological independence by controlling and operating AI driven by the nation itself, not by specific global companies. Chief Secretary Kang Hoon-sik commented, “Chief Ha is a visionary of a virtuous cycle ecosystem where the country and companies coexist with AI.”

This appointment is interpreted as a signal that the Lee Jae-myung government intends to make AI a key national growth driver and promote a systematic plan combining private expertise and public strategies. Chief Ha is expected to play the role of the President's direct AI strategy control tower, coordinating major policies such as public AI development, data sovereignty, and securing global competitiveness.