South Korea to pour billions into AI

South Korea plans to invest almost $16 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, according to Lee Jae Myung's annual budget address. The budget proposes a 12.8% increase in government spending, totaling 820.9 trillion won (€551.5 billion, $615.62 billion). The additional funding will be allocated to AI development, including three megaprojects: semiconductor production, physical AI, and AI data centers.

A separate 4.7 trillion won ($3.2 billion) will be invested in frontier AI projects to achieve world-leading performance for a national strategic asset. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is a major player in the global memory chip market, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as its leading chip manufacturers. The country recently experienced faster-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter, fueled by chip exports and investment, with exports reaching $930 billion from January to October, on track to surpass $1 trillion this year.