Key conclusions
- South Korea will give the entire population free access to generative AI with no query limits, plugged into state services. The beta starts in September.
- Tender condition: at least 80 percent of inquiries must go to Korean models. Foreign only with the consent of the ministry and without additional payment.
- The state adds up to 512 Nvidia chips and part of the operating costs. The total price of the program was not disclosed.
- From 2027, the same assistant will help with finances and retirement planning.
In South Korea, ChatGPT has about 23 million users, according to ministry tender documents. He pays for anything less than two million. The government looked at this difference and instead of forcing people to pay, they decided to give everyone the premium version for free. Just not the American one.
The program is called “AI for All”. Seoul on Friday named three consortiums that will deliver it, including the two largest telecommunications operators and the company behind the Kakao messenger. Each will get its own application and will introduce the model to services that Koreans already use.
What exactly does a Korean get?
Access with no limit on inquiries, no fee and no introductory course. In addition, there is the administration involved: making an appointment with a doctor, looking for an apartment, asking about taxes. A small company will check its settlement and whether it receives public aid. The parent will receive suggestions for learning materials for the child.
You pay for a comparable version today out of your own pocket, every month. The Korean will not pay anything from September.
Eighty percent of inquiries must stay in the country
Operators are required to pass at least half of the requests through their own certified Korean model. Another 30 percent is to go to models from other Korean companies. Together, this gives a national floor of 80 percent. Foreign models are allowed only where the ministry deems it necessary, and such use does not receive any subsidy.
The state adds up to 512 Nvidia B200 systems and part of the operating costs. The government has allocated about $7.2 billion for artificial intelligence this year, three times more than the year before.
The citizen is not the recipient of generosity here. It is a way to provide users to Korean companies whose models would lose to American ones in a week without this tender. I believe that free access is the cost of customer acquisition and is paid by the budget.
How much exactly? The ministry did not specify the price of the entire program or the goal of how many people are expected to benefit from it.
Malta did it first and the result was different
In May, Malta announced that it would give all residents, approximately 520,000 people, free ChatGPT Plus. With two catches: you have to complete the course, and access lasts for a year.
In practice, it was a huge trial period, after which accustomed users will subscribe on their own. Malta rented someone else’s product. Korea buys chips, forces its own models to tender and enters them in state registers.
What does this mean for you
From 2027, the Korean system is to develop into a personal assistant supporting financial management, learning and retirement planning. Therefore, the state is building a financial advisor for the entire country and ensuring that the tender follows national models.
So the question is not whether you will ever get such access for free. It reads: who sets the default answers in a tool that advises millions of people where to keep their savings. Will a bank in which the state has shares do better or worse than its competitor in such a conversation? What about an asset that no government controls?
In Poland, this problem does not exist yet because no one hands us anything. But the pattern is spreading around the world faster than the dispute over who should control it. Malta in May, Korea in September.
At least you know who you are paying for your subscription.
