Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 1 hr ago
KIC faces security questions over Chinese AI models and planned GPU expansion
South Korea’s Korea Investment Corporation, which manages 339 trillion won in national assets, uses Chinese AI models for internal document work.
The models help summarise and translate documents and search internal rules, reports and lawmakers’ questions.
One model’s developer, the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, was placed on a US export control list before KIC adopted its model.
A lawmaker says KIC’s model-selection criteria did not include developers’ nationality or export-control status, raising concerns about security checks.
KIC says it chose models for their accuracy, suitability for work and performance on limited hardware, and says the Chinese language model was a good fit for Asian languages.
Internal AI use dropped from 3,755 requests in May to 798 in September, even as KIC plans to increase its GPUs from four to 12 for platform upgrades.
The lawmaker wants KIC to check that the new equipment meets actual demand and has urged the finance ministry to review public agencies’ AI choices and set security standards.
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), which manages 339 trillion won in national assets, uses Chinese AI models for internal document and information tasks.
A lawmaker says KIC’s model selection criteria did not include developers’ nationality or US export-control status.
One of the Chinese models was developed by an institute placed on a US export-control list in March 2025.
KIC plans to increase its GPU capacity from four units to 12, even as internal AI use fell between May and September.
KIC says its choices reflected work needs and limited hardware, while the expansion is intended to support an upgraded AI platform.
- Who
- Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and lawmaker Kang Min-kook.
- What
- KIC’s use of Chinese AI models and its planned GPU expansion have drawn questions about security and spending.
- When
- The report was published on October 19, 2026. Internal AI service began on May 7, 2026.
- Where
- At KIC in South Korea.
- Why
- Kang says security factors were missing from the model selection criteria. KIC says it considered performance, work suitability, hardware limits and demand for a platform upgrade.
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC)
Kang Min-kook
Model selection
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC)
KIC says it considered accuracy, comprehension, reasoning, work suitability and stability, as well as limits from having four GPUs.
Kang Min-kook
Kang says the criteria did not include the developers’ nationality or whether they were subject to US export controls.
GPU expansion
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC)
KIC says the expansion will provide infrastructure for an internal AI platform upgrade and takes rising prices and delivery times into account.
Kang Min-kook
Kang questions expanding GPU capacity threefold while internal AI use has fallen, and called for checks that the equipment matches actual demand.
BAAI was placed on the US Commerce Department’s export-control list, according to the article.
KIC added BAAI’s BGE-M3 model to its internal AI.
KIC began offering the service to all 350 employees and signed a 950.4 million won contract to expand AI infrastructure.
KIC ordered an internal AI platform upgrade project.
Internal AI use was 798 requests, down from 3,755 in May.
- Assets managed
- 339 trillion won
- AI models
- Four: Alibaba’s Qwen3, BAAI’s BGE-M3, Meta’s Llama3 and Google’s Gemma3
- GPU capacity
- Planned to rise from 4 to 12
- Internal AI requests
- Fell from 3,755 in May to 798 in September
- Internal AI users
- Fell from 339 in May to 147 in September
- Expansion contract
- 950.4 million won
What people are saying
Performance and cost-effectiveness were considered, but the developers’ nationality and sanctions status were not even in the criteria, and while internal AI use fell to one-fifth, equipment was increased threefold