On January 14, 2026, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, the South Korean government initiated a competition. The aim was to develop a completely novel and independent AI model rooted in South Korean technology, thereby liberating itself from reliance on tech behemoths from the United States or China. This move aligns with the growing global trend of countries seeking technological self-sufficiency, a concept akin to "digital sovereignty," where nations strive to control their digital infrastructure and data flows.

However, over the course of the three-year competition, a concerning revelation emerged. Among the five finalist companies, three were discovered to have incorporated at least some open-source code from foreign AI models, with Chinese models being among the sources. In the realm of AI development, open-source code is a double-edged sword. While it fosters innovation and collaboration by allowing developers to build upon existing work, it also raises questions about true independence and originality, especially in the context of national technological ambitions.

A professor of electrical engineering at Harvard University weighed in on the matter, stating that it is an unrealistic expectation to demand that every single line of code be written entirely from scratch. In the modern tech landscape, where knowledge and code are shared globally, complete isolation is nearly impossible. This reflects the English - speaking world's understanding that innovation often builds on prior work, and strict independence in coding might hinder rather than help technological progress.