Science ministry, AMD open first steering committee as Advancing AI comes to Seoul

The science ministry said Tuesday it held the first steering committee for its agreement with AMD with the U.S. chip designer in Seoul, reviewing work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and talent development that the two sides committed to in July.

The committee is the standing body the two sides set up to manage and check progress on the tasks covered by the memorandum of understanding they signed on July 27, which covers building and demonstrating heterogeneous AI computing infrastructure, joint research with the National AI Science Center, and cooperation on AI for Science.

The two sides examined where work stands on linking AMD's central processing units and graphics processing units with Korean neural processing units to build heterogeneous AI computing infrastructure, on establishing an AMD AI research center, and on university support and AI talent development, and discussed detailed implementation plans and schedules, the ministry said.

Lee Do-kyu, head of the ministry's information and communications policy office, led the Korean side, with Keith Strier, AMD's senior vice president of global AI markets, representing the company. The session was timed to AMD's Advancing AI World Tour Seoul 2026, the company's flagship AI technology event, which was held in Korea for the first time.

More than 1,300 people registered in advance for the event, closing registration early, and Korean companies working with AMD on AI computing infrastructure, including LG Electronics, Moreh and MangoBoost, attended to share views on AI technology and the direction of the ecosystem.

Lee took part in a panel discussion held under the theme "Building Korea's AI Nation," where participants discussed how Korea's AI ecosystem should develop and cooperate in response to global changes in AI technology.

Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung attended the event in person, congratulating AMD on bringing the gathering to Korea, and toured exhibition booths with Strier to look at Korean companies' AI technology and computing infrastructure displays.

"AMD holding its flagship 'Advancing AI' event in Korea for the first time means that it regards Korea as an important AI cooperation partner to that extent," Ryu said. "The science ministry will work actively so that the cooperation tasks the two sides have discussed under the MoU signed with AMD are carried out without disruption and lead to the growth of Korean AI semiconductor companies and the strengthening of our AI ecosystem's competitiveness."