How AI is Revolutionizing Cost Reduction: Insights from the 2026 ERT Members Day

Translation result.“KCCI ERT Members Day” Highlights AI Cost Savings; MOU With Ministry of the Interior and Safety for Regional CooperationChoi Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), urged greater use of artificial intelligence to address social problems. Choi spoke on May 20 at the 2026 ERT Members Day, hosted by the KCCI’s New Entrepreneurship Council (ERT) at the KCCI building in Jung-gu, Seoul. He said AI can allocate resources more efficiently and accelerate solutions faster than social problems emerge.Now in its third year, Members Day provides a forum for ERT member companies to share results and explore collaboration with a range of stakeholders. About 500 people attended, including Choi; Kim Min-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety; Jung Hyo-myung, vice president at Samsung Electronics; Kim Eun-jung, vice president at SK; and representatives from public institutions and academia.In his opening remarks, Choi emphasized AI’s potential to narrow the gap between highly capable and less capable actors working on social issues. “AI removes the difference between highly capable people and less capable people trying to solve social issues,” he said. He noted that even modest social interventions often require substantial time and resources, but AI can speed connections and collaboration, producing cost savings. He also argued for wider public adoption of AI, predicting society will advance as AI use becomes as ubiquitous as smartphones.Choi Moon-jung, distinguished professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), described AI as a core tool for tackling social challenges. “We must reconsider what it means to be a good company in a society that coexists with AI,” she said. “Firms should anticipate and prevent new social problems that AI could create, while treating AI as a partner in addressing social challenges.”At the event, the KCCI and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced a memorandum of understanding to create a cooperative framework for regional development. The agreement commits both parties to:- match local collaboration needs with corporate social-contribution efforts and build execution capacity;- identify innovative projects in the social and solidarity economy and scale successful cases;- establish a corporate-matching system to boost youth inflows to regions and encourage local entrepreneurship;- conduct promotions and campaigns to counter regional decline and support balanced development.Kim Min-jae praised the agreement in his remarks, saying that combining local governments’ on-the-ground expertise with corporate execution capabilities can produce substantive breakthroughs. He pledged to establish a standing collaboration system linking the KCCI, local communities, and companies, and to connect firms that need ideas with citizens who can provide execution resources to accelerate solutions to regional problems.Member companies also presented notable social-impact cases. Examples included LG(003550) HelloVision’s support for the Yeongdeok Sand Run Marathon organized by Youth Village and McDonald’s launch of products using local specialties, such as the Jindo green-onion burger.Near the exhibition hall, organizers unveiled a “Workation Exhibition Zone” showcasing nationwide workation programs and exemplary local policies from municipalities such as Busan and Suncheon. A “Helping AI Experience Zone” allowed visitors to try AI tools designed to improve conditions for socially vulnerable groups.