South Korea to Offer Free AI Access to All Citizens in 2026

South Korea is launching an unprecedented national program that treats advanced AI access as a public utility, providing every citizen with free, unlimited use of generative AI models through government-subsidized infrastructure.

The 'AI for All' program

The Ministry of Science and ICT has selected three consortia to operate the program, which will roll out through dedicated mobile applications later in 2026 following a September beta launch. The consortia include South Korea's two largest telecommunications operators and the company behind Kakao, the multi-purpose platform embedded in daily Korean life.

The government is supplying the computational backbone: up to 512 Nvidia B200 GPUs distributed among the three operators, along with subsidies for ongoing operational costs. The Ministry has not disclosed the total program budget, though President Lee Jae-myung's administration allocated 10 trillion won for AI initiatives in 2026—triple the previous year's spending.

Practical applications for citizens and businesses

The AI services will integrate directly with government systems, enabling users to schedule medical appointments, search for housing, and receive tax guidance through conversational interfaces. Small businesses can use the tools to calculate taxes and determine eligibility for state support programs. Parents will have access to personalized educational content recommendations for their children.

These capabilities will be embedded both in standalone apps and within existing products that Koreans already use daily, lowering the barrier to adoption.

Domestic AI mandate

The program includes strict localization requirements designed to reduce dependence on foreign AI providers. Each operator must route at least 50 percent of queries through its own certified Korean foundation model, with another 30 percent handled by other domestic models—an 80 percent local requirement overall. Foreign models may be used where the Ministry deems necessary, but without government subsidy.

This policy shift comes as two-thirds of South Koreans have already experimented with AI tools. According to Ministry tender documents, ChatGPT had 23.45 million Korean users in April 2026, Gemini had 8.45 million, and Claude had 2.41 million. Only about 1.8 million people in the country pay for AI services.

Why it matters

South Korea's approach represents a fundamentally different strategy from other governments investing in AI infrastructure. While the European Union's InvestAI initiative mobilizes €200 billion to build compute capacity and India's IndiaAI program funds GPU access for startups, Seoul is directly distributing AI capabilities to end users as a public service. This model could influence how other nations think about AI accessibility and digital equity, particularly as AI tools become essential for navigating government services and economic opportunity. The domestic content requirements also signal how countries may use AI policy to build strategic technology independence.

The details were first reported by GEEKSPIN, citing South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and Yonhap News.