South Korea unveiled an ambitious AI infrastructure initiative, with plans to invest more than 800 trillion won ($576 billion) in semiconductor manufacturing and AI to cement the country’s position in the global AI race.
The program was unveiled by President Lee Jae Myung in a televised statement on June 28, in which he said semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the “triple axis for our great leap forward.”
Under the project, the South Korean government will work with semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to dramatically expand domestic chip production over the coming years.
As part of the initiative, Samsung and SK Hynix will each build two new semiconductor fabrication plants in the country’s southwest, totaling 15 gigawatts in each region. The facilities will make up part of a semiconductor ecosystem designed to boost AI chip production and bolster domestic supply chains.
“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” Lee said in the statement.
According to the government, regional authorities in Gwangju and South Jeolla province will also contribute financially toward the projects.
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the government would accelerate approvals to bring new manufacturing capacity online more quickly.
“We will rapidly expand our production capacity by drastically shortening the timeline from licensing to construction,” he said.
The initiative is part of the “3 Mega Projects for South Korea’s Great Leap Forward” — an industrial project intended to position South Korea as a major player in AI development.
The news also comes just days after South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper published a report saying Samsung is planning to announce a 1,000 trillion won ($646 billion) investment program over the next decade — which would be the largest investment ever by a Korean company.
The funds will reportedly focus on semiconductor fabrication, AI data centers, batteries and displays.
