South Korea has unveiled an extensive industrial strategy centered on semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence. According to President Lee Jae-myung, this plan aims to secure the nation’s global dominance in these key technologies through corporate investments amounting to several hundred billion euros.
The President stated, “We must secure the core areas of AI faster than any other country.” Technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plan to jointly invest 800 trillion won (approximately 455 billion euros) with their suppliers. South Korea’s Minister of Industry, Kim Jung-kwan, announced that two new chip factories are scheduled to be built in the southwestern part of the country.
In addition to these corporate investments, Lee indicated that the cities of Gwangju and the South Jeolla province will dedicate another five to 20 trillion won (between 2.8 and 11.4 billion euros) toward the projects. Furthermore, 81 trillion won (46 billion euros) is slated for a chip packaging cluster in the Chungcheong region, near Seoul.
The government also announced plans to construct AI data centers in the region. Several companies are expected to invest 550 trillion won (313 billion euros) for this purpose.
