Seoul: South Korea plans to purchase more than 35,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) over the next two years as part of a nationwide push to strengthen artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the science minister said Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon announced the plan during a parliamentary session, explaining the government's long-term goal of securing 50,000 GPUs by 2030. The initiative is part of the country's strategy to become a global leader in AI by the end of the decade.

Bae emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and the private sector, stating, "I do not think the government can do everything. The government will pave the way for the private sector to create an AI market and make investments in infrastructure."

Earlier, the government announced its "AI Highway" initiative, aimed at establishing a national AI data center equipped with 50,000 GPUs. This is part of a broader vision to position South Korea at the forefront of AI technology by 2030.

As part of the initiative, the government has launched a project to develop homegrown AI foundation models. Five companies -- Naver Cloud Corp., Upstage, SK Telecom Co., NC AI Co., and LG AI Research -- have been selected to receive financial support for research and development, as well as access to government resources.