South Korea Appoints Naver’s Ha Jung-woo as First AI Policy Chief to Spearhead Sovereign AI Vision

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has appointed Ha Jung-woo, former head of the AI Innovation Center at Naver Cloud Platform, as the country’s first Chief of Future AI Strategy, a newly established post under the Presidential Office’s Policy Office. The announcement, made on June 15, signals a decisive push by the Lee administration to accelerate its ambition of positioning South Korea among the world’s top three AI powerhouses.

Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Presidential Secretary, described Ha as “a pioneering figure advocating for Sovereign AI”—a concept emphasizing national autonomy over artificial intelligence technologies. “Ha has not only proposed this vision but has actively led its discourse,” Kang said during a press briefing. “He is a strong advocate for a virtuous cycle in AI development, where the government provides support to enterprises and, in return, businesses share the benefits they generate.”

Ha’s appointment reflects the administration’s commitment to grounding AI policy in field experience. As a key executive at Naver, Ha oversaw the development of large-scale language models and AI infrastructure, experience that the government expects will translate into actionable national policy. “We anticipate his practical industry expertise will be instrumental in shaping and implementing our AI strategies,” Kang added.

President Lee has consistently emphasized the urgency of enhancing national AI competitiveness. “To quickly raise our global standing, we must empower civilian experts who understand the field best with both authority and responsibility,” he previously stated. The creation of the Chief of Future AI Strategy post, staffed by a non-governmental figure, is seen as a move to institutionalize this approach.

In a broader reshuffle of the National Security Office ahead of the G7 summit, President Lee also appointed Kim Hyun-jong, former Defense Reform Secretary, as First Deputy Director; Lim Woong-soon, currently Ambassador to Canada, as Second Deputy Director; and Oh Hyun-joo, Ambassador to the Vatican, as Third Deputy Director. These appointments complete the restructuring of the presidential security team.

The full press release is available on the Republic of Korea Government Policy Briefing website.

Image Credit: Presidential Press Corps