# Why South Korea is racing to build a sovereign AI model for cybersecurity > Source: > Published: 2026-07-17 05:58:33+00:00 # Why South Korea is racing to build a sovereign AI model for cybersecurity Fears over access to foreign AI models have accelerated Seoul’s push to control the systems used to defend critical infrastructure [South Korea](https://www.scmp.com/topics/south-korea?module=inline&pgtype=article)plans to develop its own cybersecurity-focused [artificial intelligence](https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article)model by the end of this year, after a brief US clampdown on advanced systems exposed the risks of relying on foreign technology for national cyber defence. But Seoul’s more ambitious longer-term idea of building a frontier model capable of competing with the world’s most advanced systems would require it to overcome a persistent gap in AI software, computing capacity and large-scale training, analysts said. The initiative reflects a broader push for “AI sovereignty”, with governments in Japan, Britain, Canada and across the European Union investing in domestic models and computing infrastructure to reduce their reliance on foreign providers. Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon unveiled the plan on Thursday after Washington imposed new export restrictions on several advanced AI models, including Anthropic’s Mythos 5. [Lee Jae Myung](https://www.scmp.com/topics/lee-jae-myung?module=inline&pgtype=article). Bae warned that AI-powered cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. “AI can be used to identify security vulnerabilities and exploit them with ease, so we need to prepare our defences accordingly,” he said.