PM-Hangeul Day

▲ Prime Minister Han Seong-sook speaks during a ceremony marking Hangeul Day at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul on Oct. 9, 2026. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Friday pledged to make efforts to uphold the value of the Korean writing system, Hangeul, even in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Han made the remarks during a ceremony celebrating the centenary of Hangeul Day, which commemorates the Korean script created by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in 1443 and promulgated in 1446.

"The government will do its best so that Hangeul is loved not only by our people but people around the world and so that its value is maintained even in the era of artificial intelligence," she said.

Han, a former chief executive of online portal giant Naver, said the value of language has become increasingly more important, noting its role connecting people with AI.

She shared plans to increase the number of types of Korean language corpora used to train AI from the current 174 to 340 by 2030 so that the technology better understands the language.

Han also noted the country plans to expand the number of King Sejong Institutes, which teach the Korean language overseas, from the current 273 to more than 350 by 2030.

Meanwhile as the country marks the centenary of Hangeul Day, the National Hangeul Museum is set to reopen its doors in 2028 after suffering a fire in February last year, Lim Seong-hwan, the museum's director, told Yonhap News Agency.

In a recent interview, Lim described the museum as a "repository of memory," pledging efforts to promote Hangeul.

"A construction company will be chosen based on the results of a safety inspection, with construction to begin at the end of the year," Lim said. "The museum is planned to reopen in time for Hangeul Day in 2028."

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