KISDI Calls for AI Interoperability Policies to Advance Sovereign AI and an AI-Enabled Society (detail)

※ URL(Korean): https://www.kisdi.re.kr/bbs/view.do?bbsSn=114990&key=m2101113055776&pageIndex=1&sc=&sw=

KISDI Premium Report (26-04)
Policy Directions and Challenges for Building an Open AI Ecosystem

KISDI Calls for AI Interoperability Policies to Advance Sovereign AI and an AI-Enabled Society
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▲ AI interoperability is a strategic infrastructure that shapes national sovereignty and industrial competitiveness
▲ A comprehensive interoperability framework spanning the entire AI ecosystem remains underdeveloped
▲ Stronger linkages are needed with testing and certification systems, public procurement, and data space design

The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Sangkyu Rhee) recently published its **KISDI Premium Report (26-04)**, *Policy Directions and Challenges for Building an Open AI Ecosystem*. The report emphasizes that openness is essential for developing sovereign AI and realizing an AI-enabled society, and that AI interoperability policies are a key mechanism for achieving this openness in practice.

As AI infrastructure has evolved beyond individual services to become a critical foundation for national economies, security, and industrial competitiveness, sovereign AI has emerged as an important policy agenda worldwide. The report argues that sovereign AI without openness may promote technological sovereignty in principle while, in practice, creating new forms of technological lock-in. It also emphasizes that an open AI ecosystem can accelerate the diffusion of AI technologies, contributing to the realization of an AI-enabled society. In addition, openness is essential for establishing an export-oriented AI ecosystem that enables Korean AI services to compete in global markets from the earliest stages of development.

To build an open AI ecosystem, the report argues that interoperability should be supported by certification and public procurement systems that integrate legal and contractual arrangements, supply chain management, technical standards, and operational governance. An analysis of policy approaches adopted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union shows that although the specific policy instruments differ, they share a common approach of combining standards, testing, procurement, and governance frameworks to encourage market participants to adopt interoperable technologies.

The report therefore recommends that Korea establish a comprehensive AI interoperability framework integrating technical and data standards, develop testing and certification systems that ensure practical interoperability, and design domain-specific data spaces based on standardized application programming interfaces (APIs). It also proposes incorporating anti-lock-in requirements throughout public procurement processes, including provisions for data portability, cloud migration, and model format compatibility. Where appropriate, the report further recommends considering legislation to guarantee users' rights to switch between AI systems and service providers.

HYEON SOO KIM, Senior Research Fellow at KISDI, noted that such a policy package would reduce dependence on specific technology providers while strengthening the competitiveness of Korea's AI industry and contributing to the establishment of genuine technological sovereignty. He added that these measures would help position Korea's AI ecosystem as both a sustainable national infrastructure and a globally competitive export asset.

The report is available for download from the KISDI website ([www.kisdi.re.kr](http://www.kisdi.re.kr)).

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KISDI Calls for AI Interoperability Policies to Advance Sovereign AI and an AI-Enabled Society