South Korea Will Give Every Citizen Free AI Access With Unlimited Tokens
South Korea plans to give all citizens free access to generative AI, treating model access like a public service. The system will be integrated into government services for tasks such as booking medical appointments, finding housing, tax help, business support checks, and educational recommendations. Three domestic consortia, including major telecom firms and Kakao’s parent, will provide the service through dedicated apps and existing platforms, with unlimited usage. The government will supply up to 512 Nvidia B200 chips and help cover operating costs. Beta testing begins in September, with full rollout later this year. The policy aims to reduce reliance on U.S. and Chinese AI systems and promote Korean models by requiring at least 80% of queries to use domestic foundation models. This comes as many Koreans already use AI, but mostly through foreign free tiers. Seoul has also sharply increased AI spending, with about $7.2 billion planned for 2026.
