South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT appointed Kim Se-woong (김세웅), a former Kakao AI Synergy Performance Leader (vice president), as head of the National AI Service Innovation Taskforce. The ministry said on Nov. 1 the taskforce is a newly created organisation to quickly develop and provide AI services that people can feel in daily life. It aims to move away from an outsourcing-led development approach and have private developers and public-sector AI experts directly identify demand and develop services.

The taskforce will have a structure of one group, one director and four teams, with a total of 61 members. It includes 26 private developers, 16 public-sector AI experts known as "AI champions", 13 staff from ministries, and six experts from related institutions. The private developers were hired as fixed-term public officials and account for about 43 percent of the total workforce.

Kim graduated from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University and completed a doctoral course in electrical and computer engineering at the same university. In 2009, he founded the technology startup Mightyworks. He later worked at Kakao, overseeing AI technology development, service commercialisation and infrastructure building.

The ministry announced a hiring plan for private developers for the taskforce in August and held an open recruitment in September for head candidates. Kim was selected as the final candidate after a document screening and interviews. He will begin work on Nov. 2. His term runs through Sept. 30, 2028.

Kim said, "AI innovation that people can feel starts not with showcasing new technologies but with actually solving inconveniences people experience in daily life." He said, "By combining the speed and innovativeness of the private sector with the public sector's responsibility, I will quickly introduce AI services that provide practical help to the people."

The taskforce will also hire additional private developers to strengthen its AI service development capabilities. Details including hiring fields and headcount, eligibility requirements and schedules will be posted on the ministry's website and on Nara Ilteo.