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NIPA Improves Performance Management of AI and SW Corporate Support; Rep. Han Jun-ho Says It Must Lead to MSIT Action Plan

Policy2 min read

NIPA, a Korean government tech agency, has proposed a plan to track how much support each AI and software company gets and whether that support leads to real growth. The plan follows questions raised by lawmaker Han Jun-ho during a parliamentary audit.

What happened

The National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) has made a plan to manage government support for AI and software (SW) companies. The plan links each company's total support history with its growth results, such as sales, investment, and jobs. On the 27th, the office of Han Jun-ho, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, said NIPA had submitted this plan after his questions in a National Assembly audit on the 15th.

Key numbers

  • From 2022 to 2026, support programs for AI and SW companies picked 5,847 company slots in total (counted by year).
  • The total support amount is about 5.2202 trillion won (about 5 trillion 220 billion won).
  • Counting each company only once, there are 3,087 unique companies.
  • Companies picked for two or more programs in the same year: 207 in 2022, 163 in 2023, 105 in 2024, 100 in 2025, and 81 in 2026.

Why support is complicated

Government support often comes from many programs at once. AI and SW companies may need different help as they grow, from tech development and testing to sales and overseas expansion. So being in more than one program is not automatically a problem. Some 2025 and 2026 programs, such as building and using AI computing infrastructure, have different goals and sizes, so they need separate review.

Why it matters

The plan aims to show whether public money actually helps companies grow. It also helps find unneeded overlap between programs and lets agencies adjust similar programs. Still, the plan needs clear rules, such as how to match total support with growth results and how long to check results after a program ends. Lawmaker Han said the agencies, including NIPA, the National Information Society Agency (NIA), and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), should set shared rules and a clear schedule.

What to watch

  • The shared rules for linking total support amounts with company growth results.
  • How long after a program ends the government will keep checking results.
  • Whether NIPA, NIA, and IITP set up a joint working group.
  • The schedule for putting the plan into action, as requested by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Glossary

NIPA
A Korean government agency that supports the growth of the IT industry, including AI and software companies.
NIA
The Korea National Information Society Agency, a government body that works on digital and information society projects.
IITP
The Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation, which plans and checks government tech projects.
SW
Software. Programs that tell computers what to do.
AI computing infrastructure
The large computers, chips, and systems needed to train and run AI programs.

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