South Korea launches free unlimited AI service, treating generative AI as public utility

South Korea announced an “AI for All” initiative that will offer every resident free, unlimited access to generative AI, effectively treating the technology as a public utility. The program tasks consortia headed by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao with providing the services, with beta trials starting next month and a nationwide launch planned for December. The government will provision up to 512 Nvidia B200 GPUs this year and assume nationwide operating expenses beginning in 2027.

Policy makers describe AI proficiency as a fundamental skill comparable to literacy, warning that disparities in access could create broader economic and social divides. The scheme mandates that participating services use Korean-developed AI models for at least 50 % of their workload, with another 30 % from other domestic firms, framing the effort as an industrial policy. International observers view the experiment as a test of whether AI will remain a market commodity or become a universally provided service.