- South Korea will give its entire population free access to generative AI through a new program called “AI for All.”
- The government picked SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao to run the service, with beta testing starting in September.
- Seoul will supply up to 512 Nvidia B200 chips and push companies to use mostly Korean-made AI models.
South Korea wants to turn AI into something every citizen can use for free. The government calls this plan “AI for All.” It aims to help people book doctor visits, search for apartments, and handle their taxes.
The Ministry of Science and ICT started this project in mid-July 2026. It hopes to reach around 51 to 52 million people, according to a report by KuCoin. Beta testing starts in late September, and a wider launch should follow before the year ends.
Three Companies Chosen to Run the Program
The government ran a bidding process that opened on July 13. Six companies applied for a chance to build the service. On August 28, officials picked three winning groups. The Ministry of Science and ICT named SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao as the operators, according to a TechSpot report. These three companies rank among South Korea’s biggest tech and telecom firms.
Each company will build its own AI app. They will also add AI features to the products people already use every day. Kakao runs one of the country’s most popular messaging apps, so many citizens may reach the AI tools without downloading anything new.
SK Telecom plans to offer its service through an app, by phone, and by text message. The company also wants to connect its AI to Government24 and the PASS identity app. Citizens could use these tools to request up to 83 types of official documents, according to a report from edgeX.
Users will not face token limits under this plan. That means people can chat with the AI as much as they want, without hitting a usage cap. Most paid AI tools today restrict how much a person can use them each day.
Government Pushes Companies to Use Korean AI Models
Seoul does not just want to hand out a free chatbot. It wants to grow its own AI industry too. The rules require that most of the AI running on this service comes from Korean companies.
At least half of each service must run on South Korean sovereign foundation models, according to a report from Cryptopolitan. Another 30 percent must come from other domestic firms. This rule stops any single company from relying only on its own technology.
Foreign AI models will only appear where the government sees them as truly necessary. The state will not help pay for that part of the service. This setup pushes citizens toward homegrown AI instead of foreign chatbots from the United States or China.
The government will also supply computing power to run the whole system. It plans to give the three companies up to 512 Nvidia B200 chips combined. These chips help AI models process huge amounts of information quickly.
The ministry has not shared the total cost of the program. However, the government plans to help cover running costs starting in 2027, once the service moves onto the national budget, according to gHacks Tech News.
A Bigger Plan for South Korea’s Digital Future
This program fits into a larger goal. South Korea wants to build a strong AI industry that depends less on foreign technology. Officials hope local startups and big firms can grow by reaching millions of new users through this free service, according to Analytics Insight.
Microsoft has released a Windows 11 app that installs Bing extensions across browsers and prompts users to make Bing their default search engine, with the option enabled by default.
Other countries have tried similar paths. France and the United Arab Emirates have also backed national AI models and computing programs to protect their own data and language systems, according to Cryptopolitan.
South Korea already has a large AI user base. About two out of three South Koreans have tried using AI tools. Around 23 million people use generative AI tools regularly. A government survey found that roughly one in four South Koreans pay for AI services, a much higher share than in the United States, according to CompleteAITraining.
Not every detail has been made public yet. The government has not explained exactly how citizens will sign up for the service. It also has not confirmed which company will serve which region or group of users. SK Telecom has since pointed to October as its own launch window, even though the wider beta may start by late September.
For now, South Korea stands out as one of the first countries trying to offer AI to its whole population at no cost. If it succeeds, it could reshape how everyday citizens use AI tools, and how governments think about AI as a public service rather than a private product.
