South Korea's science ministry approves AI ethics principles and autonomous-driving AI roadmap

South Korea's science ministry said it approved three measures at its 12th ministerial meeting, including the Korea AI Ethics Principles, an autonomous-driving commercialization roadmap and a deep-tech startup strategy.

Autonomous driving combines vehicles and AI, and the ministry said development and commercialization are advancing rapidly in the United States and China. Seeking to close the technology gap, the government plans to expand trials that began in Gwangju into more places and at larger scale, collect diverse driving data and use it to improve the performance and generality of domestic autonomous-driving AI. The roadmap calls for a profit-sharing model involving transport operators, labor unions, autonomous-driving companies and platforms, as well as a site-response system for safe operations and rapid accident response.

The Korea AI Ethics Principles are a voluntary code for AI providers, users and society to consider in disputes. The ministry said that as AI capabilities advance and its use expands across society, new safety and trust issues have emerged. The principles build on Korea's 2020 AI ethics standards and emphasize the ethical role of users as well as providers. After releasing a draft in early May, the ministry collected 116 comments from industry, civil society, academia, government agencies and the public before producing the final version. It sets three values -- human dignity, the public good and humanity's sustainability -- and seven principles on human-centeredness, privacy, fairness and inclusion, accountability, safety, reliability and transparency.

"The true achievement of AI competition goes beyond developing outstanding technology to realizing AI used in industry and people's daily lives. As AI spreads, ethical principles to secure safety and trust are becoming more important, and we will create a healthy AI ecosystem where innovation and responsibility are in harmony," Bae Kyung-hoon, deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, said.

The deep-tech startup strategy seeks to move outcomes of the Seven SEED program toward commercial use. The government plans a comprehensive demonstration support center and hubs in key fields, an AI agent for researchers navigating startup formation, and expanded TeX-Corps training for science and engineering students. It will also pilot investment-type R&D, create a deep-tech-focused ultra-long-term fund and establish public-private special-purpose companies in advanced biotechnology and compound semiconductors.