A dedicated national AI institution

The center is intended to serve as a dedicated national research body for artificial intelligence, addressing the need for a large-scale, government-backed AI research organization. Recruitment of several hundred researchers is planned as part of the setup.

The establishment of the center within 2025 and the scale of hiring — researchers numbering in the hundreds — form the core of the plan, though details such as the center's exact location, budget and organizational structure have not been fully laid out.

Implications for Korea's AI landscape

A state-run AI research center with several hundred staff would represent one of the larger concentrated AI research efforts in the country, coming as Korea's technology giants including Samsung, SK hynix, Naver and Kakao continue to expand their own AI investments.

Uncertainty remains over the timeline and staffing figures, which are subject to change as the government finalizes the plan.

The claim that Korea will establish a national AI research center within the year and hire several hundred researchers is, on balance, accurate — the overall verdict is Mostly True.