Interior ministry sends delegation to Estonia, France for AI government talks

South Korea's interior ministry said Tuesday it is sending a government delegation led by Vice Minister Kim Min-jae to Estonia and France this week, as Seoul seeks to shape international discussion of how governments use artificial intelligence.

The delegation will travel from Wednesday to Nov. 10, first attending the Digital Nations ministerial meeting in Tallinn on Nov. 5. Kim will present Korea's policies and experience on using agentic AI — autonomous systems that make judgments and carry out tasks without human intervention — to overhaul government while securing accountability, strengthening digital sovereignty and building trust in digital identity systems.

The Tallinn meeting is held under Estonia's chairmanship and carries the theme "Agentic State: Going beyond Hype." Korea is a founding member of Digital Nations, launched in 2014 by digitally advanced countries including Britain and Estonia.

Brazil's expected accession at this meeting is the other headline item for Seoul. Latin America's largest economy and a strategic partner of Korea is set to join as a new member, which the ministry expects to open the way for public AI cooperation to widen into the region. The move follows an agreement between President Lee Jae-myung and his Brazilian counterpart during Lee's state visit to Brazil in July to expand cooperation in advanced technologies including the digital economy and AI. The ministry said it will build on that summit outcome to broaden policy exchanges with Brazil in public AI and digital government.

"Korea is a digital government and AI pioneer whose capabilities have been recognized as among the world's best in the OECD's digital government assessment," Kim said. "Drawing on the experience we have accumulated, we will set out a new direction for government innovation in the AI era and lead international discussion and cooperation on AI policy."

The delegation then moves to Paris for the OECD E-Leaders meeting from Nov. 9 to 10, a gathering of senior digital government and AI officials from member states. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Korea's accession to the OECD, and Kim is scheduled to give the keynote address.

The ministry said the delegation will also meet senior OECD officials responsible for public governance. The talks will cover Korea's chairmanship of a Southeast Asia AI cooperation network next year and ways to expand the country's role in global AI policy coordination.